Militants using guns and explosives yesterday attempted to breach the security cordon around the ancient egyptian temple of karnak in luxor, the interior ministry said.
Police foiled the attempted attack, killing two militants and injuring a third.
Security forces immediately engaged the attackers, the ministry said, resulting in the deaths of two of them. One of them died when a bomb he was carrying exploded.
The third attacker suffered a gunshot wound to the head. A worker at the site was also shot at.
The temple is one of egypt's most important ancient monuments and a key tourist attraction. the ministry said that no tourists were hurt in the incident.
The head of the health ministry in luxor, Nahid Ahmad, said that four people were injured in total-two police, a worker and an unidentified person who suffered a gunshot wound.
Earlier, local officials said that a suicide bomber wearing an explosives-laden belt blew himself up at the temple's entrance plaza and two other militants then exchanged fire with police.
Tourist visits to the temple resumed normally after the incident, said mohammed othman, vice president of the luxor chamber of travel and tourism companies.
The karnak temple complex, a unesco world heritage site, is renowned for its series of 10 monumental entrances and 134 towering columns in its central hall.