A bomb attack Friday on an Egyptian police convoy in the capital killed an officer and wounded seven conscripts and a civilian, officials said, with jihadists claiming responsibility.

The blast occurred in Ain Shams, a neighborhood in northeast Cairo that is a stronghold of supporters of deposed Islamist president Mohamed Morsi.

Two Al-Jazeera journalists were freed from an Egyptian prison Friday pending retrial, their families said, after spending more than a year in jail in a case that provoked global uproar.

A Cairo court on Thursday ordered the release of Canadian Mohamed Fahmy and Egyptian Baher Mohamed, who face retrial on charges of supporting the blacklisted Muslim Brotherhood.

Al-Jazeera journalist Peter Greste said Friday he was overjoyed that two colleagues have been released from an Egyptian jail but said that with a retrial pending, it was too soon to celebrate.

Mohamed Fahmy, who is Canadian, and Egyptian Baher Mohamed were freed on bail Thursday after more than 400 days in prison after an appeals court ordered a retrial.

France announced Thursday it will sell 24 Rafale fighters plus a frigate to Egypt in a 5 billion euro ($5.7 billion) deal that marks the first foreign contract for the multi-role combat jet.

French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian will travel to Cairo on Monday to sign the contact with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, a ministry source told Agence France-Presse.

Canada welcomed Thursday Egypt's release on bail of Al-Jazeera journalist Mohamed Fahmy, but decried as "unacceptable" putting him through a retrial.

"While we welcome Mohamed Fahmy's release on bail, we continue to call for his immediate and full release," Canadian Consular Affairs Minister Lynne Yelich said.

An Egyptian court ordered the release of two jailed Al-Jazeera journalists Thursday pending retrial, after they spent more than 400 days in prison in a case that sparked worldwide outrage.

Mohamed Fahmy, who is Canadian and whose family hoped he would be deported, must pay 250,000 Egyptian pounds ($33,000) bail.

A fierce sandstorm lashed Egypt, Israel and Lebanon on Wednesday, forcing the closure of the Suez Canal and grounding domestic flights in Israel, officials said.

The skyline of Cairo was barely visible as dust blown in from the surrounding desert hung in the air and shrouded the Egyptian capital for a second day.

An Egyptian appeals court on Wednesday overturned death sentences of 33 alleged Islamist supporters of ousted president Mohamed Morsi and ordered a retrial, state media and their lawyer said.

A lower court in June condemned to death 183 Islamists, including the 33, for the alleged murder of two policemen and attempted murder of five others in the southern province of Minya on August 14, 2013.

A centuries-old tomb in southern Egypt was partly demolished when a crane lifting blocks of sculpted masonry sliced through its dome, officials said on Tuesday.

Monday's accident happened when workmen were using the crane to move large blocks of stone to a site in the town of Aswan where an international exhibition for sculpture is being held.

Russian President Vladimir Putin met his Egyptian counterpart and agreed a deal to build a nuclear plant Tuesday as he sought to boost ties on his first visit to Cairo in a decade.

The two-day visit came with Moscow bidding to strengthen relations with the most populous Arab country at a time when Cairo's alliance with Washington has frayed.