ISMAILIA, Egypt, Jan 9 (Reuters) - Egypt has found the remains of at least 10 Egyptians in a single grave in the Sinai peninsula and authorities believe they were soldiers killed in one of Egypt's wars with Israel, security sources said on Wednesday.

The sources said an Egyptian man had found the remains while digging the foundation for a new house in the town of Sheikh Zuwayyed, about 15 km (9 miles) from Egypt's border with the Gaza Strip.

The man notified authorities, who were examining the grave and had found remains of at least 10 people along with military clothing including protective helmets, the sources said. Witnesses said the Egyptian army had taken control of the site and sealed access to it.

"One citizen found remains, suspected to belong to soldiers, while he was digging in the Abu Holi area near Sheikh Zuwayyed in northern Sinai," one of the security sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"We are continuing with excavation operations ... There are remains that are likely to be Egyptian soldiers killed during war between Egypt and Israel," the source added.

There was no immediate word on exactly how those in the grave might have died or who buried them, and the sources said it was too early to tell which war they had fought in.

Egypt and Israel have fought four wars since 1948. Israel captured the Sinai peninsula in the 1967 Middle East war and handed it back to Egypt under a 1979 peace treaty, its first with an Arab state. (Reporting by Yusri Mohamed; Writing by Cynthia Johnston; Editing by Janet Lawrence)

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