A senior police officer was killed early on Thursday during a firefight with suspected criminals in the Shubra Al-Kheima neighborhood north of Cairo, Egypt's interior ministry said in a statement.

The incident erupted as police were targeting two suspects believed to be involved in an attack on a police force that killed four policemen earlier this week in Qalyoubiya's Khanka district, state news agency MENA said.

Two policemen, a captain and a sergeant, were wounded during the exchange of fire, the ministry added.

A security source said police have identified two suspects in Thursday's killing—both fugitives who had previously been sentenced to death and life in prison in absentia. Two other suspects were also arrested on Thursday.

On Sunday, assailants opened fire on a police vehicle carrying four policemen during a raid to arrest outlaws in the area, officials said.

Security forces have often been targeted by militants since the ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013, though most of the attacks have taken place in the troubled parts of the North Sinai governorate.