CAIRO (AFP) - Egypt's prosecutor general on Saturday referred to trial 200 alleged members of the al-Qaeda-inspired Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, accusing them of "terrorism" for launching deadly attacks against security forces, judicial sources said.

It would be the first mass trial of jihadists in Egypt since the military ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in July last year.

Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, based in the restive Sinai Peninsula, has claimed some of the bloodiest attacks against Egypt's security forces since Morsi's overthrow.