Two people were killed when a bomb exploded under a car in the Egyptian city of Alexandria on Saturday in what appeared to be an assassination attempt on the city’s security chief, state media reported.

The blast went off as a motorcade carrying Major General Mostafa al-Nemr, Alexandria’s top security official, was passing by in the Roshdi district.

The explosion killed a policeman and another person and wounded four other police officers, according to the state news agency MENA.

"On Saturday March 24 an explosive device planted underneath a car exploded ... as the Alexandria security chief drove by," the interior ministry statement said.

Pictures shared on social media showed smoke billowing from the burned out remains of a car.