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An Egyptian Muslim stabbed and wounded a security guard after being prevented from entering a church in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria on Saturday, a senior police official told AFP.

The man was quickly subdued by the guard and others who rushed to help and is being questioned, the official said.

The incident came days after Egypt's Christian minority leaders said they were suspending some activities such as conferences and religious trips for security reasons.

Islamic State has claimed responsibility for a string of deadly attacks on the country's Coptic community that has left more than 100 people dead since December.

In May, 29 people were gunned down in a bus travelling to a monastery in Minya by IS militants during the Church's most holy week of the year.

Three IS suicide bombings targeting churches killed dozens more Christians in December and April.

The leader of the Islamic State group in Egypt said in May that attacks on Christians and their churches would continue as part of their mission.

"We're still checking," the official, who requested anonymity, told AFP when asked whether the suspect in Saturday's incident was an extremist.

He gave no other details about the assailant, apart from his religion.

CCTV footage of the incident showed a man wearing earphones and with a bag trying to enter the church when he was called back by a guard who asked to check the bag.

The man took out a knife and slashed the face of the guard, who quickly recovered to subdue his attacker with the help of others.

On Friday, a man stabbed two German women to death and wounded four other Western women in an attack at a Red Sea beach resort.

He was arrested and is being questioned by police.