Egyptian troops kill Sinai militant leader in gunbattle - army

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian troops shot dead an Islamist militant described as a leader of the Sinai group that claimed a failed attempt on the life of the interior minister and the murder of a high-level security official, the military said on Monday.

Attacks on soldiers and policemen in the Sinai Peninsula, bordering Israel and the Palestinian Gaza Strip, have become commonplace since the army ousted Islamist President Mohamed Mursi in July in the face of mass unrest over his rule.