Cairo, June 10 (IANS): Egyptian police foiled a suicide attack on Wednesday near the ancient Karnak temple in the Upper Egypt city of Luxor, security sources told Xinhua news agency.

According to the sources, four terrorists with machine guns tried to break into the tourist site, but the police guarding the temple opened fire at them, killing two of the attackers.

The third terrorist who wore an explosive belt blew himself up, killing himself and injuring the fourth militant, the sources added.

The injured terrorist is now at hospital under tight security observation, the sources revealed.

A policeman and the owner of a gift shop were also injured in the attack.

Earlier, other security sources told Xinhua that six people were killed in the attack, including two militants.

No casualties were reported among tourists, the source confirmed.

There was no claim of responsibility for the attack, but it is likely that the assault was carried out by the Sinai-based Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis, which has recently pledged allegiance to the Islamic State Sunni radical group.

Anti-government operations escalated notably in Egypt after the ouster of Islamist president Mohammed Morsi in July 2013 after mass protests against his one-year rule.

Wednesday's attack is the first in Luxor since 1997 when Islamist militants shot dead 62 people.

As a famous tourist attraction, Luxor contains a lot of well known ancient monuments and antiquities.