Authorities are battling dogged insurgency in North Sinai, where jihadists have carried out regular attacks on security forces.

CAIRO - Afrasianet - Egypt on Sunday extended by three months a state of emergency in force since late October in areas of North Sinai after an attack that killed 30 soldiers.

The authorities are battling a dogged insurgency in North Sinai, where jihadists have carried out regular attacks on security forces since the army ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in July 2013.

On October 24, a suicide bomber and gunmen killed 30 soldiers near the provincial capital of El-Arish.

The cabinet decided to extend the emergency by three months, including a night-time curfew between 7:00 pm (1700 GMT) and 6:00 am (0400 GMT).

The military is building a buffer zone along the border with Gaza to prevent militants infiltrating from the Palestinian enclave