Plainclothes policemen stand guard in front of the restaurant that was attacked in Cairo, Egypt, December 4, 2015. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany

CAIRO (Reuters) - A Molotov cocktail hurled at a Cairo restaurant killed 16 people and wounded two on Friday, Egyptian security officials said.

One of the officials said the attacker was an employee who had been fired from the restaurant in the Agouza area in the center of the Egyptian capital.

The victims were burned to death or died from smoke inhalation. The restaurant, also a nightclub, was located in a basement, offering no escape route, the officials said.

The interior ministry said an initial investigation indicated that the Molotov was hurled after a dispute erupted between restaurant workers and others.