The bodies of six Sudanese migrants who had been shot dead were found in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula near the Israeli border on Monday, security and health officials said.

Eleven Sudanese were also wounded by gunshots as the group attempted to reach Israel, officials said. The circumstances of the shooting were not immediately clear.

The Sinai Peninsula, where Egyptian authorities are battling a jihadist insurgency, is a major route for African migrants trying to reach Israel.

On November 15, the bodies of 15 African migrants were found near the Israeli border after they were shot dead.

Egypt border police often shot migrants at the border as they tried to cross into Israel between 2009 and 2011.  

The northern part of the peninsula has been the stronghold of a jihadist insurgency since the military overthrew Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013.

AFP contributed to this report.