Cairo, Nov 28, (IANS): An Egyptian army officer was killed Friday in Cairo in a drive-by shooting attack by unidentified militants, media reported.

Unidentified assailants in a car gunned down a brigadier general and injured a non-commissioned officer after they opened fire at a check point in Cairo's Nasr City neighborhood, Xinhua reported citing state-run Al Ahram Arabic website.

Egypt's army and police have taken high security measures across the country's main squares and government buildings ahead of Islamists' calls to hold massive anti-government protests Friday.

The protests, called for by the ultra-conservative Salafists Front, are expected to turn violent after the afternoon's Friday prayers.

Egyptian police arrested dozens of Muslim Brotherhood members who incited and planned violence ahead of Friday's protests.

Although the police announced it defused a number of bombs, a number of explosions took place since Friday morning across the country, causing no casualties.

Egypt has experienced months of terrorist acts and violent protests since the army toppled Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in July last year.

Violence by Morsi's supporters has claimed the lives of hundreds of security forces members.