Three Egyptian policemen were killed and four others, including a police officer, wounded Friday in an attack in the Suez Canal city of Ismailia, security and medical sources said.

Two cars approached a checkpoint in a residential neighbourhood of the city and two armed assailants opened fire at the policemen, the security source said, according to France 24.

The policemen responded, killing one of the assailants while the other fled.

The source said the attack was likely a “terrorist act”, describing it as the first of its kind in nearly three years in mainland Egypt, which has largely been spared the deadly insurgency in the Sinai peninsula.

Medical sources confirmed the casualty toll from the attack, for which there was no immediate claim of responsibility.

Source: Agenceis