Masked gunmen on motorbikes killed five Egyptian policemen when they opened fire on a checkpoint south of Cairo on Thursday, the interior ministry said.

Masked gunmen on motorbikes killed five Egyptian policemen when they opened fire on a checkpoint south of Cairo on Thursday, the interior ministry said.

The ministry said two policemen were also wounded in the attack in the province of Beni Suef, which came two days ahead of the commemoration of the third anniversary of the 2011 uprising.

The assailants fled the scene.

Scores of policemen and soldiers have been killed in bombing and shooting attacks since the military's overthrow of Muslim Brotherhood’s president Mohammad Mursi in July.

The deadliest attacks have been claimed by the Al-Qaeda inspired group Ansar Beit al-Maqdis based in the restive Sinai Peninsula.

The group had claimed a suicide car bombing in December that killed 15 people, mostly policemen, in an attack on security headquarters north of the capital.