The Egyptian presidency on Monday strongly condemned the killing of four Shiites in sectarian confrontation the previous day.

"The regrettable incident that occurred Sunday and resulted in the death of four Egyptian citizens completely contradicts tolerance and the moderate thinking of the Egyptian people," the presidency said in a statement.

The four Shiites were killed Sunday in a conflict with Sunnis in a village in Giza governorate, southwest of the capital Cairo.

Dozens of Sunnis from Abu Musallam village burned a house in which 15 Shiites stayed, after one of the Shiites delivered a religious speech deemed by Sunnis as offensive and insulting to the companions and the wife of Prophet Mohammed.

The Sunni Muslims hurled stones and Molotov cocktails at the house. Four of the Shiites were caught by the Sunnis and beaten to death.

The presidency totally rejected such criminal acts, assuring that the security apparatus would pursue the perpetrators and bring them to justice.

"The state would never tolerate attempts to undermine national security and unity," said the presidency.