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Dozens of militants were killed by Egyptian forces during several days of security operations in the Sinai Peninsula, the military said on Saturday.

At least 30 were killed in the operations involving the army, air force and police.

The military did not specify to which group the militants belonged but described them as "extremely dangerous".

Five others were arrested as Egyptian forces imposed a "tight siege" on the North Sinai provincial capital el-Arish and the cities of Sheikh Zuweid and Rafah, a military statement said.

Egypt has struggled to quash attacks led by Islamic State, whose local branch is based in North Sinai, after the army ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013.

The IS insurgency has so far killed hundreds of members of Egypt's security forces.

Meanwhile, Egyptian police killed three top Islamist militants in two separate operations, including two caught trying to move to a new hideout on Cairo's outskirts, the government said on Tuesday.

The two militants killed in New Cairo were senior members of the Hasm group - a movement the government accuses of links to the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, the interior ministry said.

The third man, a militant who was gunned down in the restive North Sinai province, was a leader of a militia affiliated with the Islamic State group, the ministry said in a separate statement.

Two others were caught trying to move to a new hideout on Cairo's outskirts.

The militants who died were said to have been behind attacks including a shootout in early May in which three policemen were killed and five wounded near the Cairo ring road.

Last month, Hasm claimed responsibility for an attack that killed two police officers and injured three conscripts in Cairo.

It vowed more attacks in the coming months.

Little is known about the movement but analysts distinguish them with militant organisations such as the Islamic State group which has a presence in the Sinai.