SHARQIYA, Dec 9 (Aswat Masriya) – Unidentified assailants fired at a police car on an agricultural road in Sharqiya early Tuesday, killing a police officer and injuring two policemen.

A security source told Aswat Masriya that the policemen were driving on the Cairo-Belbeis Agricultural Road for security inspection. They approached a car parked on a bridge, which aroused their suspicion, when its passengers shot at them and escaped.

The injured policemen were taken to a medical centre for treatment.

Militants have stepped up attacks targeting security forces in Egypt, particularly in the Sinai Peninsula, since the army's ouster of Islamist President Mohamed Mursi in July 2013, which followed mass protests against his rule. Attacks have soon spread to other areas of the country, including the capital.