CAIRO, Dec. 27 (Aswat Masriya) - Two "terrorists" were killed and another injured Sunday after they exchanged fire with security forces in the North Sinai city of al-Arish, the Egyptian army spokesman said.

Second Field Army forces chased two "terrorists", who were riding a motorcycle in Arish’s Jisr el-Wadi area, which resulted in the death of one and the injury of another who escaped, Army Spokesman Mohammed Samir said in a statement published on his official Facebook page.

Samir added that the killed militant was found to have been involved in the execution of police officer Ayman al-Desouki in January.  

The Egyptian army had announced on Jan. 13 that it found Desouki's body in North Sinai a few days after he was abducted by unidentified gunmen.

Later in January, Egypt's deadliest militant group Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis, which changed its name to Sinai Province in November 2014 after pledging allegiance to ISIS, released a video showing gunmen capturing and killing a man who identified himself as Desouki. Desouki said in the video that it was Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis who abducted him.

Samir also announced in his statement the death of another “terrorist” in a separate incident when the army raided a village near Mount el-Halal. The militant tried to escape and died in an exchange of fire with the security forces, Samir added.

Militancy inside Egypt has surged since the military ouster of former president Mohamed Mursi in July 2013. While the vast majority of bombings and shootings take place in North Sinai, other parts of the country have been affected too.

Security personnel are the main targets of attacks but in May, three prosecutors and a driver were killed when gunmen opened fire on their vehicle in North Sinai's Arish city.

Egyptian authorities say they have killed hundreds of militants in Sinai in security crackdowns.