Several gunmen attempted to assassinate a leading member of the Islamist Wasat Party in the port city of Damietta in the early hours of Friday morning, according to a party official.

Saad Abdel Ghani, assistant secretary-general of the party in Damietta, was driving his car in the Huways district of the city when gunmen opened fire on his car.

According to Essam Sultan, the deputy leader of the party, the incident took place at 2am on Friday morning.

“Several gunmen appeared suddenly and fired shots at Abdel Ghani,” Sultan wrote on his Facebook page. “He managed to speed away in his car, but the back and side windows were damaged. He had a lucky escape.”

Sultan said that members of the Wasat Party were not scared by “the actions of some ex-convicts.” He also accused the head of security in the city of conspiring with the gunmen to attack Abdel Ghani.

The Wasat Party was formed in 1996, and has often been described as a moderate Islamist alternative to the Muslim Brotherhood. The party won 10 seats in the last Egyptian parliament.