The attack, which targeted a police armoured vehicle at a checkpoint, also wounded a police conscript, the officials said. The officer killed was a lieutenant colonel, they added.
Militants, who have stepped up attacks in the restive peninsula since the military's overthrow of president Mohamed Morsi on July 3, also attacked a police station in the town of El-Arish, security officials said.
The northern part of the peninsula, bordering the Palestinian Gaza Strip and Israel, has become a haven for Islamist militants who have conducted frequent attacks on security forces and Israel over the past few years.