Cairo: A senior Egyptian police officer was killed when a bomb exploded under his car outside his home near Cairo on Wednesday, state television and a security source said.

Brigadier-General Ahmed Zaki was killed in the explosion in 6th of October City, 32 km (20 miles) from the capital, the state-run Nile news TV station reported.

Bombings and shootings targeting the police have become commonplace in Egypt since the army deposed president Mohamed Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood last July.