Egypt's interior ministry said on Friday its forces killed four people it said were fugitive terrorists plotting to carry out hostile operations.

The men were killed after opening fire on security forces who approached them in Giza, on the southwestern edge of the Egyptian capital Cairo, where they were meeting to plan an attack, the ministry said in a statement.

It identified one of them as Sameh Mohamed Farahat Abd el-Mageed, a 30-year-old leader of a takfiri group. Takfiri is a term for hardline Sunni Muslims who see other Muslims as infidels, often as a justification for attacking them.

Ammunition, weapons and a car were found at the scene, the statement said. It did not identify the three other men.

General-turned-president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi launched the toughest crackdown on Islamists in Egypt's modern history after toppling President Mohamed Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood in 2013 following protests against his turbulent year in office.

In October, police forces killed a senior Muslim Brotherhood leader who the interior ministry described as responsible for the group's "armed wing", as well as his aide. It said the men were killed in a shootout.

A lawyer representing the two men's families told Reuters they both surrendered as soon as police arrived and did not fire at security forces.