Roadside bomb kills Egyptian policeman, injures three in Sinai

A roadside bomb went off Friday in Egypt's volatile Sinai Peninsula, killing a police officer and injuring three others, a security official said.

The explosion occurred when a police armoured vehicle hit the bomb in al-Arish, the capital city of northern Sinai, the official added on condition of anonymity.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Meanwhile, explosives experts defused a bomb next to an hotel in the city of Giza, famed for the Pyramids, state-run newspaper al-Ahram reported online.

There were no casualties, according to the report.

Both incidents occurred days after the start of two-round parliamentary elections, Egypt's first since the army's 2013 overthrow of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi.

Egypt has since seen a surge in attacks mostly against security forces, mainly in Sinai.

A group loyal to the Islamic State extremist militia has claimed most of the assaults.

Egyptian authorities have blamed the violence on Morsi's now-banned Muslim Brotherhood.

The Islamist group has denied the accusation, accusing the government of oppression.