Egypt's Hasm claims responsibility for Cairo attack that killed two police officers

The Hasm militant group claimed responsibility for an attack that killed two police officers and injured three conscripts in Cairo on Sunday.

The unidentified assailants planted an explosive device in the upscale Cairo suburb of Maadi, detonating it remotely when the police vehicle drove by, Hasm said in a statement, vowing more attacks.

In February, an Egyptian court declared Hasm a terrorist organisation, alleging it was linked to the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group.

Since 2013, the Egyptian government has linked most of the militant groups in the country, which announced responsibility for attacks on security forces, to the Muslim Brotherhood.

The militant group also confirmed it was behind assassination attempts on former Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa and Deputy Prosecutor Zakareya Abdel Aziz last year.

Since current president and then-army-chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi overthrew Egypt's Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013, with the often-violent crackdown on Islamist and other dissidents, the country has seen a wave of attacks against security forces.

Hundreds of police personnel have been killed by militants, including the Islamic State group, who have managed to gain a foothold in the restive Sinai Peninsula.

The majority of attacks have focused around the North Sinai province, which borders Israel and the Gaza strip.