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An Egyptian court has acquitted a former security chief and two of his aides of killing protesters during a popular uprising in 2011.

The court justified the ruling by saying that Farouk Lashin, the former head of the Qalyubiyah security directorate, and his aides were protecting the state's vital facilities when members of the now-banned Muslim Brotherhood group shot the victims dead.

Other deaths occurred when some inmates attempted to break out of prison, the court argued, adding that the victims were shot by internationally prohibited bullets and weapons not used by the interior ministry or the armed forces.

In February 2014, the police general and his two aides were acquitted of murder charges but the general prosecution appealed the ruling, forcing a retrial.

According to local media, Lashin's defence team argued during the retrial that prosecutors failed to present evidence showing that the police force carried live ammunition during the 18-day clashes, which left 864 protesters dead.

The defence also urged the court to apply a precedent established in a 2015 ruling that acquitted former interior minister Habib al-Adly of similar charges in a separate trial.

Lashin and his aides are the latest in a series of acquittals of police officers in cases involving the killing of protesters during the early days of the January uprising that toppled strongman Hosni Mubarak.

Last month, the court of cassation upheld a retrial decision to acquit low-ranking police officer Mohamed Ibrahim "al-Sunni" of killing protesters outside a police station during an Old Cairo uprising.

"Al-Sunni" was the first member of the police force to be officially convicted of killing protesters.

During his retrial, defence lawyers argued that he acted in self-defence against protesters attempting to storm police stations.