A car bomb exploded near a police training centre in Egypt's Sinai peninsula, Egyptian state television reported on Wednesday, saying that three militants had died in the blast.

The explosion took place near the city of El-Arish, in the northern Sinai, where violence by Islamist militants has escalated since President Mohamed Morsi was deposed on July 3. 

An Egyptian security source told state news agency MENA that the car might have exploded accidentally before reaching its target.