CAIRO, Nov. 28 (Aswat Masriya) - Four policemen were shot dead on Saturday by two masked men on a motorcycle in Cairo's twin city Giza, said a statement by the interior ministry. 

The policemen belonged to the Giza police force and were killed inside a police car after assailants opened fire at them in Aboul Nomros, an industrial area on the outskirts of Cairo, the ministry said in a short statement on its Facebook page. 

It said security forces are combing the area to find the perpetrators and the weapon they used and has notified prosecutors to launch an investigation. 

Bombings and shootings in Cairo are rare. 

In July, an explosion outside the Italian consulate in central Cairo claimed the life of one Egyptian and injured 10 others. No Italians were injured in the attack. Islamic State fighters in Iraq and Syria claimed responsibility for the attack, Reuters reported at the time. 

Egypt's top prosecutor Hisham Barakat was killed on Jun. 29 in an explosion targeting his motorcade. This makes him the first top official to be assassinated in Egypt since the military ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Mursi in July 2013, following protests against his rule.

Other attempts including one on the life of then-Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim in Cairo in December 2013, had failed.  

Aswat Masriya could not independently verify the content of today's statement.