Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi has extended a state of emergency in designated areas of the North Sinai governorate for three more months starting 31 October, the Middle East News Agency (MENA) reported on Tuesday.

The initial decision to impose the state of emergency came in August 2013 by then-interim president Adly Mansour after violent unrest gripped the country following the ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi.

The decision has since been continuously extended for three months at a time, with the latest extension in May 2016.

Egyptian security forces are grappling with an Islamist insurgency based in parts of North Sinai.

Last Friday, 12 army personnel and 15 militants were killed in North Sinai when an armed group assaulted a security checkpoint, according to authorities.

The insurgency has killed hundreds of Egyptian security personnel over the past several years, while the military has said that hundreds of militants have also been killed in security operations in the area.