A host of ministers have mourned Prosecutor General Hisham Barakat who was assassinated on Monday in a car bomb blast in Cairo.

"He was one of the Egyptian state figures," Local Development Minister Adel Labib.

He called for closing ranks among Egypt to protect the country from terrorism.

Culture Minister Abdel Wahid el Nabawy asserted that Egypt will defeat terrorism.

Education Minister Moheb el Rafei mourned the general prosecutor. He said his assassination is part of a scheme that wants to destabilize the country.

Finance Minister Hani Qadry deplored this "heinous act".