An Egyptian soldier has been killed Thursday while trying to dismantle an explosive device in North Sinai, Al-Ahram Arabic news website reported.

Sergeant Hany Rady was killed in Abo Omair village south of Sheikh Zuweid town and was transferred to the military hospital in Al-Arish.

The Egyptian army has been facing a decade-long jihadist militant insurgency in the Sinai Peninsula, with militant attacks increasing over the past year and expanding into Cairo and the Nile Delta, killing hundreds of army and police personnel. Civilians too have been caught up in the violence.

A policeman was found dead Tuesday in North Sinai after having been announced kidnapped earlier.

The army announced Wednesday killing seven jihadists, including five it said were involved in the kidnapping incident.

According to Al-Ahram, Egyptian forces have killed 206 "terrorist elements" in Sinai in the past three months since a deadly attack in October on security forces that left at least 31 forces dead and prompted the creation of a buffer zone on the borders with Hamas ruled Gaza.

Groups such as Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis — that swore loyalty in November to the Islamic State (IS) — and Ajnad Misr have claimed responsibility for several attacks on security forces in Sinai and elsewhere.