CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt will impose a curfew on parts of the North Sinai region starting on Saturday after the country extended its state of emergency, the official gazette said.

The curfew includes areas at the border town of Rafah near Gaza from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. and around the town of El-Arish from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m., it said.

Egypt extended its state of emergency for three months last week to help tackle “the dangers and funding of terrorism”.

Egypt’s security forces have for years been battling an Islamic State insurgency in North Sinai that has killed hundreds of soldiers and police and has also included civilian targets.

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi gave the armed forces three months to end the insurgency after militants killed more than 300 people at a mosque in North Sinai in November.

The curfew will continue as long as the state of emergency is still in place, the gazette said.