A knife attacker appears to have exclusively targeted female tourists during a deadly rampage before hotel staff pinned him down and wheeled him away in a luggage cart.

Two German women were killed and four more tourists injured during the knife attack at a beach in Egypt.

The attack happened on Friday at a Red Sea resort in Hurghada, as police said the assailant swam from a nearby beach before stabbing people.

The attacker reportedly shouted: 'Stay away, I don't want Egyptians.'

Security and medical sources had earlier reported the two women killed were Ukrainians, but Major General Mohamed El-Hamzawi, security manager of Red Sea province, said victims have been identified as Germans.

All six victims are women, Egyptian authorities said.

It is not yet confirmed what nationalities the four wounded women are, with one report stating that three were from Serbia and one from Poland, while another said two Czech women had been injured.

Workers and security personnel detain the man who stabbed two German tourists to death and wounded four others

Two German tourists have died and four of other foreign nationalities have been wounded after a knife attack at the Red Sea resort of Hurghada, in Egypt (pictured, a victim)

Police detained the suspect at the scene, saying he swam to the resort from a neighbouring beach before launching his attack (pictured, the alleged suspect detained in what appears to be a luggage cart)

Some of those in hospital are in critical condition, according to an Egyptian spokesman (pictured, a bloodied victim on a sofa in a nearby hotel)

The attacker was detained at the scene as an extraordinary image shows what appear to be hotel staff holding him down in the bottom of a luggage cart.

Authorities have not released a motive for his attack, but ISIS does operate within Egypt and has targeted tourists in the past.

Three foreign tourists were stabbed at the same resort in January 2016 by two suspected ISIS militants.

On that occasion the assailants - armed with a gun, a knife and a suicide belt - landed on the beach of a hotel in Hurghada by boat before attacking.

An Islamic State group bombing of a Russian airliner carrying holidaymakers from a south Sinai resort in 2015 killed all 224 people on board and decimated the country's tourism sector.

Russia suspended all flights to Egypt in response and has yet to resume them.

IS has been waging a deadly insurgency based in the north of the Sinai Peninsula that has killed hundreds of policemen and soldiers.

Hurghada is a popular Egyptian holiday resort, renowned for its scuba diving. The Red Sea is a popular tourist destination for Britons, eastern Europeans and Russians.

The attack came hours after five policemen were shot to death Giza when suspected Islamic militants opened fire on their vehicle early in the morning.

The attacker was held down by workers and security officials after the rampage

Egyptian Ahmed Abdullah, Governor the Red Sea, visits injured tourist women in hospital

All six victims were rushed to hospital where the two Germans were pronounced dead. Some of the wounded are in a critical condition (scene pictured)

Hurghada is a popular holiday destination for eastern Europeans, Russians and Britons and is known for its scuba diving

An Interior Ministry statement as saying the gunmen attacked the checkpoint Friday in the Badrashin area in Giza, part of Greater Cairo.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

Insurgents have carried out a number of attacks in Egypt since the 2013 military ouster of an elected Islamist president.

The violence has been concentrated in the northern Sinai Peninsula, but there have also been several attacks on the mainland, including in the capital.

The shadowy group Hasm, believed to be affiliated to the banned Muslim Brotherhood, has claimed responsibility for similar attacks.

Five police were shot dead in Giza earlier on Friday after suspected Islamic militants opened fire at a checkpoint outside the city