Militants kill two Egyptian soldiers in Sinai bomb attack

An Egyptian army officer and a conscript were killed in Sinai, and two other conscripts were wounded on Tuesday evening after militants targeted Egyptian security forces in North Sinai.

Wilayat Sinai, the province's Islamic State affiliate, has claimed responsibility but the size of the losses has not yet been confirmed.

The militant group announced that they targeted the army with an improvised explosive device south of Sheikh Zuwaid City.

A large explosion was heard in al-Arish and ambulances were seen heading towards the area.

Militants have continued to claim casualties in the Egyptian army, announcing a few days ago that 12 Egyptian soldiers have been killed in the last week.

Wilayat Sinai has reportedly extended its operations to al-Arish, which was previously considered a safer area for the Egyptian armed forces.

The Egyptian military has been carrying out operations in Rafah and Sheikh Zuwaid during the last two weeks, after a halt in operations in the two months prior.

Militants have regularly attacked security forces in the peninsula since a military coup deposed President Mohamed Morsi in July 2013.

They say their attacks are in retaliation for a government crackdown that has left hundreds dead and thousands imprisoned.

The authorities say hundreds of policemen and soldiers have been killed in attacks, mainly in North Sinai, since 2013.

Egypt's branch of IS also said it planted a bomb that caused the crash of a Russian airliner in the Sinai in October, killing all 224 people on board.