Three militants awarded death sentence in Egypt

An Egyptian court Sunday sentenced three militants to death and awarded another a 10-year jail-term over terrorism charges, a media report said.

The three, believed to be linked to the Al Qaeda terrorist group, spied against the country's national security, Xinhua reported. The fourth miitant was handed the jail-term over similar charges.

All four defendants received the verdict in absentia.

The four defendants, aged 22-33, were accused of forming a terrorist cell from 2008-2013 in Cairo with aid from Al Qaeda leaders outside Egypt to launch attacks in Sinai Peninsula, said the presiding judge Shaaban el-Shamy.

Terrorist activities mounted in Sinai and other provinces across Egypt since the ouster of former president Mohamed Morsi by the military in July 2013.