CAIRO: The Islamic State group says one of its leaders in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula has been killed.
The group's Aamaq news agency announced the death of Abu Hamza al-Maqdisi late Monday, calling him a "martyr" without saying where or how he died.
A photo of a young, smiling, bearded man accompanied the report. IS says he was killed recently, without specifying the day.
Egypt has been battling militants for years, but the Sinai-based insurgency gained strength after the 2013 military overthrow of the country's first elected president, the Islamist Mohammed Morsi, whose brief rule was divisive.
In February, Egypt launched a massive operation against militants in Sinai and other parts of the country.