Two Egyptian security personnel were shot dead early on Sunday in an armed attack on a checkpoint in the Nile Delta governorate of Al-Menoufiya, state news agency MENA said.

Unidentified gunmen driving in a car opened fire at dawn at a checkpoint in Sadat City, some 94 km (58 miles) north of Cairo, killing two members of the security forces, a statement by the ministry of interior said.

Three other policemen and two civilians were wounded in the attack, provincial ambulance official Amgad Abdel Hamid said.

The authorities say they were investigating the attack.

Militants, mainly based in the border North Sinai region, have stepped up attacks against police and army following the 2013 ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi.

The violence has mainly been centered in the peninsula but has occasionally occurred in the mainland.

The army has conducted an extensive operation to crush the insurgency in Sinai, killing hundreds of militants.