An Egyptian military source told state-owned news agency MENA that a member of a “terrorist group” was killed on Sunday as he was attempting to plant an explosive device on El-Sheikh Zuweid road in north Sinai.
The source further denied media reports that the explosion happened in the vicinity of a vehicle owned by security forces.
Hours earlier, Al-Ahram Arabic reported that a bomb exploded late Sunday in the region close to a military vehicle.
The military source also refuted media reports of an Israeli patrol being attacked by gunmen south of the Rafah border, stressing that what had taken place was an exchange of gunfire between Egyptian security forces and “terrorist militants” who were trying to cross the border.
Israeli newspapers reported an exchange of fire between the Egyptian army and unidentified militants on the border, and Israeli news website Ynet reported that Israel had raised its alert level after the incident.
The Sinai Peninsula has witnessed increasing confrontations between militants and Egyptian armed forces since the ouster of former Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi on 3 July.
On Friday, a policeman was killed in a militant attack on a checkpoint in Sinai.
Last week, at least ten policemen were killed in Sinai in separate attacks.