A man was killed Thursday when unknown assailants opened fire on a policeman in Egypt's Beni Suef, some 150 km south of Cairo, Ahram Arabic news website reported.
Unidentified gunmen opened fire on a private vehicle carrying a national security policeman and a civilian on a highway near the governorate's Menshaat Assem village.
The policeman, Abdullah Ismail, was injured with a gunshot wound to the chest. Medics say he is in critical condition.
A friend who was accompanying him was killed in the shooting.
It was not immediately clear if the incident was criminal or a militant attack.
Egypt has been battling an Islamist insurgency based in parts of North Sinai that has mainly targeted police and military personnel.
Militant attacks spiked following the 2013 ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi.
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