Nine alleged militants were killed by Egyptian army troops in North Sinai, announced army spokesman Mohamed Samir on Tuesday.

According to a statement issued by Samir, another 15 wanted persons have also been arrested.

Egypt's army is countering an insurgency based in the North Sinai governorate that has so far led to the deaths of hundreds of police and army personnel.

A surge in the violence occurred after the bloody dispersal of a sit-in in support of ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in August 2013, moving militant activity to Egypt's capital Cairo and the Nile Delta, as well as Upper Egypt.