Islamist gunmen abduct soldiers and police

Islamist gunmen have abducted seven members of the Egyptian security forces in the Sinai Peninsula and demanded that jailed militants - members of the Al-Tawhid wal Jihad group be released in exchange for the men.

The soldiers and police officers were kidnapped as they travelled between the towns of el-Arish and Rafah.

A policeman was later released as a sign of goodwill, press reports said.

The jailed militants were convicted of carrying out attacks in North Sinai in 2011 that killed six members of the security forces and a civilian. Last September, a court sentenced 14 members of the group to death and another four to life imprisonment.

Hardline Islamist groups based in North Sinai have exploited the collapse of state authority after the 2011 uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak to launch attacks across the border into Israel and on Egyptian targets.