Egypt's prosecutor-general on Saturday referred eight members of Jond Allah militant group to the military prosecution for crimes that include attacking army and police personnel.

The defendants face charges that include belonging to a terrorist group and attempting to murder a number of army personnel while they were attempting to attack a military train in Upper Egypt.

State Security investigations revealed that Jond Allah's leader, Mohamed Ibrahim Ali Shafea, has pledged allegiance to the Islamic State militant group.

Investigations also revealed that the small Islamist militant group was formed in mid-2014.

The charges against the defendants dates back to November 2014 when they prepared an explosive device  to blow up a military train heading passing through the Minya governorate in Upper Egypt.

However, the device failed to detonate when it was thrown at the train.

A law passed last October stipulates that those who attack government facilities, including trains, will be referred to military prosecutors and tried by a military court.

Egypt has been combating a decade long-militant insurgency in North Sinai that has spiked since the ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in July 2013.

The attacks have since spread to Cairo and its surrounding governorates.