CAIRO, July 21 (Xinhua) -- One soldier was killed and three others injured when masked gunmen opened fire late Thursday on a police vehicle in Egyptian province of Fayyoum, official news agency MENA reported.
The militants shot at the security car on a main road in Fayyoum, 103 km south of the capital Cairo, said the report.
The interior ministry said in a statement that the attackers hid in a farm land near the Fayyoum-Cairo highway and targeted three police vehicles.
The forces sealed off the area and launched a manhunt for the attackers, the statement said, adding that the wounded were transferred to hospital.
Fayyoum province hosted large numbers of Islamists and members of outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group.
Last week, a militant, who was accused of planning and conducting attacks against policemen, was killed in a shootout.
Egypt has been suffering wave of anti-security operations, mainly centered in North Sinai since the army-led ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi, in response to mass protests against his one-year rule.
Lately, some of the attacks have crept into the capital and other cities. Hundreds of security men and dozens of civilians have been killed in attacks.
A Sinai-based extremist militant group loyal to the regional Islamic State militia claimed responsibility for most of the attacks.
