BREAKING: 16 people were killed in a ‪#‎Cairo‬ restaurant/nightclub by attackers who were reportedly angry at being refused entry

At least 16 people have been killed in an attack on a restaurant and night club in Cairo’s Agouza. Egyptian state media identified the attackers as patrons that had been refused entry.

A member of the Egyptian security stands guard in front of the restaurant that was attacked in Cairo, Egypt, December 4, 2015

According to a statement released by Egypt’s Ministry of Interior, 16 people were killed and three others injured in the attack.

Egyptian investigators check the scene of a nightclub attack in Cairo, Egypt

A plainclothes policeman sits and smokes a cigarette in front of the restaurant that was attacked this morning in Cairo

Officials have said the restaurant was a small space located in a basement and offered no escape routes.

A forensic investigator photographs the entrance of a Cairo disco where a petrol bomb attack took place in the Agouza neighbourhood of the Egyptian capital's Giza district on December 4, 2015

The restaurant and night club attacked has been identified as ‘El-Sayad’, which is Arabic for Fisherman.

Plainclothes policemen stand guard in front of the restaurant that was attacked in Cairo

The Ministry of Interior says that preliminary investigations have revealed that there had been altercations and arguments between employees and the perpetrators at the restaurant and nightclub.

An Egyptian forensic member checks the gate of the nightclub which was attacked in Cairo, Egypt

The perpetrators then left the venue and returned with Molotov cocktails for “revenge”.

People and investigators gather at the scene of a petrol bomb attack on a Cairo disco in the Agouza neighbourhood of the Egyptian capital's Giza district on December 4, 2015

The Ministry of Interior did not identify whether the perpetrators were former employees or others.

An Egyptian police investigator stands the entrance of a Cairo disco where a petrol bomb attack took place in the Agouza neighbourhood of the capital's Giza district on December 4, 2015 

Egyptian state media meanwhile said the attackers had been denied entry to the nightclub by management, leading to an altercation.

The perpetrators then left the club and returned later with Molotov cocktails which they used to commit the attack.

State media has said that five of those killed were women and 11 were men. The victims, trapped inside, died as a result of either the fire or smoke inhalation.

Agouza is located near downtown Cairo, Egypt’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Maspero and other government departments.

Forensic investigators inspect the scene of a petrol bomb attack on a Cairo disco in the Agouza neighbourhood of the Egyptian capital's Giza district

This story is developing.