CAIRO - At least eight people were killed and 109 others were injured after Muslims and Coptics clashed Saturday in an area west of Egyptian capital Cairo, officials said.

The incident happened in the Embaba district of Giza when angry Muslims headed to a church where a Coptic girl was held inside, Giza Governor Ali Abdel Rahman was quoted by state TV as saying. Security and armed forces were deployed to disperse the fighting sects, he added.

According to local media reports, the girl's marriage to a Muslim man sparked the confrontation, which involved firearms, Molotov cocktails and stones. The MENA official news agency was reporting that the injured were sent to area hosptials for treatment.

Coptics, who account for about 10 percent of Egypt's population, generally live peacefully with the country's Muslim majority, but sporadic violence between the two sides do occur due to construction of churches or romantic affairs between worshippers of the two groups.