Iran Press/Africa: Egyptian interior ministry stated that the militants were plotting to carry out unspecified "hostile operations". They were killed after they opened fire on security forces who approached them in a mountainous area of the southern province of Assiut.
The forces found ammunition, weapons and organisational documents at the scene, Egyptian interior ministry added.
The ministry did not identify the militants nor say whether there had been any casualties or wounded among the security forces.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi ordered the armed forces last November to defeat militants within three months after an attack on a mosque in Sinai killed more than 300 people.
Defeating the militants and restoring security after years of unrest has been a key promise of Sisi, who was re-elected in March in an elections where all his political rivals were effectively barred from contesting.
Egypt was rocked by years of unrest after protests toppled long-time dictator Hosni Mubarak in 2011.
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