Presidential candidate Abdel-Moneim Aboul Fotouh was attacked on Cairo's Ring Road late on Thursday, on his way back from a campaign meeting in Chebin Al-Kom, Menoufia, by a number of armed men who stole his car.

He was hit on the head by the attackers who also beat the driver of his rented Land Cruiser, and will spend the night in hospital to undergo check-ups, Ahmad Ossama, a member of his presidential candidate campaign, told ONTV.

"Aboul Fotouh may be suffering concussion in an apparent carjacking after he was hit on the head by the back a machine gun," his campaign manager Ali Bahnassawy told reporters. 

Sources in the hospital said the driver is in good condition.

Aboul Fotouh, a former senior member of the powerful Muslim Brotherhood movement, is considered one of the popular candidates in the presidential elections set to take place by the end of June.

Drivers complain of an increase in carjackings on Cairo's Ring Road.