Cairo: At least two persons, including a policeman, have been killed and 16 others injured when a bomb exploded outside a bank in northern Egypt.
The explosion occurred overnight in Mahalla el-Kobra city of Gharbia governorate, officials said.
One of the dead was a 25-year-old policeman who died of his injuries in hospital, they said. The other was a civilian.
Those injured in the blast were being treated at an area hospital.
Security forces have cordoned off the area and have launched a probe into the incident.
Egypt has often witnessed violent militant attacks since the January 2011 revolution that toppled the government of former strongman Hosni Mubarak.
But the attacks targeting police and military increased after the ouster of former Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013. More than 500 security personnel have perished in attacks since then.
In January, 32 people were killed and dozens others injured in attacks in Al-Arish city in the restive North Sinai region.
The Egyptian military has launched campaigns in the area to arrest suspects and demolish houses of terrorists, including those facilitating tunnels leading to the Gaza Strip.
