CAIRO - A studio used by the Al Jazeera TV network in Cairo was set on fire on Wednesday in an attack that an employee said was carried out by a mob that had been chanting slogans against the Qatari-owned station.

The studio overlooks Tahrir Square and is located near the scene of violent clashes between youths and the security forces this week in which dozens of people have been injured. Those confrontations grew out of protests to mark the first anniversary of lethal street battles in the same area.

---

 

The first-floor office, used by for local Egyptian output by the channel, was badly damaged by fire.

The studio's windows were smashed and two empty bottles, which had apparently been converted into fire bombs, were found inside the office.

The Interior Ministry described the perpetrators as "trouble makers" who had attacked police officers when they had arrived to investigate, the state news agency reported. The public prosecutor has ordered an investigation.

"There were 200 to 250 people gathered outside the studio chanting against the channel," Ahmed Dessouki, a producer with the channel, told Reuters television.

More world stories from NBC News:

• Talks under way on possible Gaza truce as Secretary Clinton lands in Israel
• Americans tied to Israel caught in the chaos of Gaza conflict
• 'Army must invade': In southern Israel, support grows for action in Gaza
• Too much democracy? Apathy triumphs in UK's latest election
• Obama's visit a sign of Myanmar's dizzying pace of change
• Key players in the Israel-Gaza cross-border conflict
• French girl found tied up - but alive - in trunk after routine traffic stop

Follow World News from NBCNews.com on Twitter and Facebook

 

Copyright 2013 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.