The Islamic State group said it was behind a deadly car bomb attack on Italy's consulate in the Egyptian capital Saturday, and warned Muslims to stay away from such places.

Health ministry spokesman Hossam Abdel Ghaffar said the powerful early morning blast that shook central Cairo killed a civilian and wounded nine people, including policemen and passers-by.

Egyptian-born film legend Omar Sharif, who died Friday aged 83, captivated audiences worldwide for more than half a century, but will forever be remembered as the eponymous "Doctor Zhivago".

Known for his debonair style, raffish good looks and often mischievous joie de vivre, Sharif, who also gained worldwide fame as a bridge player, had Alzheimer's disease.

Four children and a woman were killed Friday when a mortar round crashed into their home in North Sinai, where the Egyptian army is battling jihadists, officials said. 

Security and medical sources said the woman and the children, aged between six and 16, died in Sheikh Zuweid, near North Sinai's main town of El-Arish.

An Egyptian court Thursday sentenced to death 10 men for killing a security guard for one of the judges hearing a case against ousted president Mohamed Morsi, an official said. 

Sergeant Abdallah Metwally was part of a team of policemen guarding the home of judge Hussein Kandil, when he was gunned down in February 2014 in the city of Mansoura north of Cairo.

Egypt's military killed 241 militants in the Sinai from July 1-5, the army said Monday, including jihadists from the Islamic State group who launched spectacular attacks last week.

The military has poured troops and armor into the peninsula where security forces have been fighting an Islamist insurgency since then army chief and now President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi ousted president Mohamed Morsi in July 2013.

Rattled by attacks on its soldiers and the assassination of the top prosecutor, Egypt is set to pass sweeping legislation critics say grants police impunity, censors media and further restricts freedoms.

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is expected to approve the law this week, after pledging tough measures against militants who have bedeviled the country since the army's ouster of his Islamist predecessor Mohamed Morsi in 2013.

An Egyptian judiciary council has asked the government to reconsider sections of a controversial anti-terrorism draft law before its approval by the president, officials and Egyptian media reported on Monday.

The draft law, which could criminalize reporting statistics on militant attacks that contradict government statements, has been condemned by journalists.

Egypt may take legal action against journalists who report "false" military death tolls in jihadist attacks that contradict official statements, if a new anti-terrorism law is approved, officials told AFP Sunday.

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who called for tougher laws following the assassination of his top prosecutor last week, is expected to approve the law within days. The cabinet has already approved the draft law. 

Three children and a woman were killed Saturday in a blast and when a shell struck a house in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula where troops are battling Islamic State group jihadists, officials said.

Two children and a woman were killed when a shell slammed into a house in the North Sinai town of Sheikh Zuweid, scene of deadly fighting earlier this week between jihadists and security forces, medical and security officials said.

Egypt's president made an unannounced visit to the Sinai Peninsula Saturday to rally troops following a wave of deadly attacks on security forces by the Islamic State jihadists, his office said.

"President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is inspecting troops and police in the North Sinai," his office said without specifying where in the restive province.