An Egyptian soldier stands guard at a checkpoint in Rafah city on the Egyptian border, August 6, 2012. Islamist gunmen killed at least 15 Egyptian police on Sunday and seized two military vehicles to attack a crossing point into Israel, the deadliest incid

CAIRO, Mar 17 (Aswat Masriya) - Egyptian military forces in Northern Sinai's Rafah killed three “militants” during an "exchange of fire", a military spokesperson said on Thursday.

Mohamed Samir, the Egyptian military spokesperson, said on his official Facebook page that whilst the troops were “raiding and combing terrorist hideouts they spotted three takfiris who had been trying to plant an explosive device” in Rafah.

"The armed forces immediately fired at the terrorists," Samir wrote adding that three were killed after an “exchange of fire”.

Aswat Masriya could not independently verify the content of this statement. Anti-terrorism legislation imposes heavy fines on news organisations that contradict official statements.

Militancy inside Egypt has seen a significant rise since the military ouster of former president Mohamed Mursi in July 2013, following mass protests against his rule. North Sinai has been at the epicenter of this insurgency.

According to separate statements by the armed forces over the past year alone, hundreds of suspected militants have been killed and hundreds more arrested in multiple security campaigns launched by the army.