Egypt Interior Ministry says explosion in Alexandria kills 1

Egypt's Interior Ministry says an explosion in the coastal city of Alexandria has killed at least one policeman and wounded four others.

Today's explosion comes just days ahead of Egypt's presidential election, in which President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi is virtually certain to be re-elected.

It also comes during a wide-scale security campaign targeting Islamic militants in the restive north Sinai Peninsula and other areas.

The Interior Ministry says the explosion occurred in the district of Roshdi as the head of the Alexandria Security Directorate was passing by.

No group has immediately claimed responsibility for the explosion.

Egypt has been under a state of emergency since April 2017, when suicide bombings struck two Coptic Christian churches on Palm Sunday in an attack claimed by the local affiliate of the Islamic State group.