A leading Islamist militant was sentenced to death on Tuesday after being found guilty of killing 25 Egyptian policemen in Sinai last year.

Adel Habara was sentenced to death, along with six other defendants, for carrying out an execution-style killing of the policemen in an ambush in August 2013, one month after the ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi.

Habara, who hit the headlines over his involvement in the attack, is also accused of involvement in another major militant attack in Rafah in August 2012, which saw 16 soldiers killed. He is also accused of involvement in other militant operations.

A large number Islamists have been sentenced to death in similar cases over the past year.

Sinai has been beset by militant attacks over the past four years. Since the ouster of Morsi by the military following mass protests against his rule, confrontations between security forces and the military have intensified and hundreds of militants and security forces have been killed.