Egypt's presidential election next month is set to be a contest between ex-army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and leftist Hamdeen Sabbahi, after nobody else entered the race by Sunday's cut-off.

The lack of other candidates means the poll will be held over one round on May 26 and 27, with Sisi expected to easily win after he led the ouster of divisive Islamist president Mohammed Morsi last July.

An Egyptian court sentenced on Sunday 30 people to more than three years in prison for violent protests in support of deposed Islamist president Mohammed Morsi, judicial officials said.

The military-installed authorities have engaged in a sweeping crackdown against Morsi's supporters and his Muslim Brotherhood since his ouster in July.

A police officer and a conscript were killed after armed attackers opened fire on their patrol car, Egypt's interior ministry announced on Sunday, the latest deadly assault against the country's security forces.

The deaths come as militants have stepped up their attacks against security forces since the army ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in July, and just two days after a police officer was killed in a bomb blast in Cairo.

A little-known jihadist group, Ajnad Misr, claimed responsibility Saturday for a string of bomb attacks targeting Egyptian security forces in Cairo, including one that killed a police officer.

Militants have stepped up attacks on security forces since the army ousted Islamist president Mohammed Morsi in July, while the military-installed authorities have launched a deadly crackdown on his supporters.

An Egyptian court on Saturday sentenced an Islamist leader on trial for murder alongside deposed president Mohammed Morsi to a year in jail for insulting a prosecutor, judicial sources said.

Top Muslim Brotherhood member Mohammed al-Beltagui and Morsi were both in court Saturday accused of inciting the killing of opposition protesters outside the presidential palace in Cairo in December 2012.

Egyptian satirist Bassem Youssef will stay off the air until after next month's presidential election to avoid influencing voters, his television network said on Saturday.

The May 26-27 vote is widely expected to be won by former army chief Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, who is riding a wave of popularity after ousting Islamist president Mohammed Morsi in July 2013.

Egyptian leftist Hamdeen Sabbahi Saturday submitted the documents required to run in next month's presidential election, in which he is likely to be the only rival to former army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

Sabbahi is currently Sisi's sole challenger after lawyer Mortada Mansour announced he was withdrawing his candidacy, although there is another day before the expected end of the registration period.

Egypt has foiled an attempt to smuggle out of the country Jewish antiquities used during religious ceremonies, the antiquities ministry said on Friday.

The artefacts were discovered in the Mediterranean city of Damietta as they were about to be shipped to Belgium, a ministry statement said.

A little-known jihadist group, Ajnad Misr, claimed a series of attacks and vowed new ones targeting Egyptian security forces in a video posted on its Twitter account on Thursday.

In the video titled "Retaliation is life", the group said that it had carried out eight attacks in Cairo since November 20, 2013.

Canada on Thursday expressed concern about the Muslim Brotherhood, the target of a relentless crackdown by Egypt's military-installed authorities since the army ousted Islamist president Mohammed Morsi in July.

"Canada has taken an aggressive stand when it comes to listings (of terror groups)... but there is a certain process," Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird said at a news conference in Cairo.