Egypt’s public prosecutor, Hisham Barakat, has been killed in an apparent bomb attack on his car in Cairo, officials say.
Mr Barakat died of his wounds in hospital, a government spokesman told the BBC.
Two bodyguards were also injured in the attack, which targeted the vehicle in the Cairo suburb of Heliopolis.
Mr Barakat has referred thousands of Islamists to trial since the overthrow of President Mohammed Morsi in 2013.
‘Car bomb’
Hundreds have been sentenced to death or life imprisonment, as part of a crackdown on supporters of the banned Muslim Brotherhood.
Jihadist militants have meanwhile stepped up their attacks on Egypt’s security forces.
Mr Barakat is the most senior figure to have been targeted for assassination since a 2013 attempt on the life of the then-interior minister.
“He [Mr Barakat] has passed away,” Justice Minister Ahmed al-Zind told AFP.
The Egyptian state news agency Mena said that he had died after undergoing critical surgery.
Monday’s attack involved a car bomb or an explosive device placed under a parked car near Mr Barakat’s convoy, bomb squad chief Gen Mohamed Gamal told the AFP news agency.
The explosion sent black smoke rising over the neighbourhood and set fire to nearby trees. Images from the scene showed several damaged vehicles and bloodstains on the streets.
Mr Barakat had received death threats in the past.
The Egyptian affiliate of the Islamic State militant group recently called for attacks on the judiciary, after the hanging of six militants.
