An Egyptian policeman was killed and another wounded in a shootout Tuesday with armed militants in Cairo, a security source said.

“National security received a tip-off that there was an apartment full of terrorists... An exchange of gunfire ensued,” the source told AFP.

He said two policemen were hospitalised, one of whom died of his injuries.

Private television channel CBC Extra News aired footage of the gunfire, as residents of  Al-Amiriyah suburb were warned to stay inside their homes away from windows and doors.

The shootout lasted several hours until after the 8:00 pm start of the nighttime curfew imposed to stem the spread of the coronavirus, the security source said.

He said the cell was “neutralised”, but there was no information on arrests or further casualties.

Security forces have been battling a long-running insurgency mainly in the Sinai Peninsula, northeast Egypt, spearheaded by a local affiliate of the Islamic State group.

Authorities launched a nationwide operation against militants in February 2018.

Since then, over 845 suspected militants have been killed in North Sinai province along with more than 60 security personnel, according to official figures.