Cairo: Three soldiers were wounded on Wednesday in an attack by militants on an army train in Upper Egypt, state television reported.

The train carrying army personnel and hardware was on a journey from the Egyptian capital to Aswan when it was attacked by suspected militants in the town of Beni Suef, around 120 kilometres south of Cairo.

Security forces mounted a massive sweep in nearby plantations for the assailants, according to the broadcaster. No arrests were reported.

The attack disrupted the rail service in the area for three hours.

Meanwhile, a policeman was killed outside his house in a city north of Cairo, security sources said. Unknown gunmen riding a motorcycle shot the policeman dead in the town of Shebeen Al Koum, they added.

No one has claimed responsibility for either attack, which is the latest in a wave of assaults on security forces.

Military and police forces have been the target of deadly attacks in Egypt since the 2013 army’s overthrow of president Mohammad Mursi.

Authorities have blamed the violence on Mursi’s Muslim Brotherhood and listed the group as a terrorist organisation.

The Brotherhood has repeatedly denied links to the attacks, insisting it is committed to peaceful activism.