NORTH SINAI, Oct 19 (Aswat Masriya) – Residents of the south Rafah region in North Sinai found Saturday night the dead body of a citizen shot in the head, a security source said.

The source, who preferred to remain anonymous, added that the 41-year-old killed citizen belongs to a prominent tribe in Rafah. He was reported missing days ago.

The citizen was wearing "clothes bearing the slogan of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIS)," the source said.

Egypt's security forces have intensified their security measures in North Sinai in reaction to repeated militant attacks that target army and police officials. The attacks, which rose significantly since the ouster of former Islamist President Mohamed Mursi, soon expanded to other areas of the country, including the capital.

A fact-sheet prepared by Egypt's ministry of foreign affairs put the death toll for terrorism acts which took place since January 2011 and until April 2014 at 971, including 664 security personnel.

Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis, a jihadist group based in Sinai, previously claimed responsibility for several attacks against Egypt's security forces after Mursi's ouster in July 2013, including an attempt in September, 2013 to assassinate the interior minister as well as several attacks targeting security headquarters and convoys.

The militant group released a video on October 5 showing the confessions of three Egyptians it claims to have executed in North Sinai for "cooperating with the Egyptian Army and the Israeli Mossad".

Islamic State (IS) spokesman Abu Mohamed al-Adnani was featured in the video, where he spoke about jihad and fighting the "infidels".

In a video allegedly released by the Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis militant group in August, the group claimed responsibility for beheading four Egyptians, accusing them of providing intelligence to Israel.

The group has also warned inhabitants of Sinai against "cooperating with the Jews and spying on their fellow Muslims", urging those involved to repent to be pardoned.

Reuters had recently interviewed a member of Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis who claimed that the group is in contact with and receives guidance from the Islamic State fighters in Iraq.

Islamic State fighters have controlled large areas of Iraq and Syria recently. They have carried out a number of mass executions and recently beheaded two American journalists and two British nationals.