CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt’s public prosecutor has ordered the detention of three men pending an investigation into an attack on a former anti-corruption watchdog chief, state news agency MENA said late on Sunday.

The men were charged with thuggery, robbery and destruction of private property among other charges, MENA said.

Hisham Genena had just left his home on Saturday morning in a suburb outside Cairo when two cars stopped him and a group of men attacked with knives and sticks, his family and lawyer said.

His lawyer, Ali Taha and family described the attack as a failed kidnapping attempt.

Genena is being treated at a hospital for a bleeding eye and several fractures.

Genena had been working to elect former military Chief-of-Staff Lieutenant General Sami Anan, the last challenger seen as a potential threat to the re-election of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in polls slated for March.

Anan’s campaign was abruptly halted after he was arrested last week and accused of running for office without military permission.

Anan’s family and lawyer said on Saturday that he was being held at a military prison.