A roadside bomb Sunday killed an Egyptian policeman and wounded four others on a highway on the southern outskirts of Cairo, the interior ministry said.

"A bomb buried by the side of the road exploded" as the vehicle drove by in the early hours of the morning, the ministry said in a statement.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but jihadists have carried out many attacks on the police and army since the 2013 army toppling of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi.

Egypt is fighting a long-running insurgency by a local affiliate of the Islamic State group in North Sinai province, in which hundreds of soldiers and policemen have been killed.

In past months, another militant group called Hasm has claimed responsibility for attacks in Cairo and the Nile Delta, most of them targeting policemen.

Source: AFP