Bombing kills six soldiers in Egypt's North Sinai

An Egyptian officer and 5 conscripts were killed and up to 9 others were seriously wounded in a roadside bomb on Friday in Egypt’s restive North Sinai province, where security forces are facing a militant insurgency.

The explosive devise went off when an armoured vehicle passed by on a road south of the city of El-Arish, killing the vehicle’s occupants, local sources told The New Arab.

Meanwhile, the Egyptian army announced on Friday that it had killed two suspected militants and arrested three others during raids in the Jabal al-Halal region in central Sinai over the past two days.

The army added that 3 soldiers had been killed and 4 others were wounded during the raids against suspected militants.

Sinai has become increasingly volatile following the overthrow of dictator Hosni Mubarak in 2011, and the military coup against President Mohamad Morsi in 2013.

Since then, the Egyptian military have battled the militants in the north of the country who appear to be growing in strength.

Most of the Sinai attacks are claimed by the Islamic State group's Egyptian branch, "Sinai Province".

IS also said it carried out the bombing in October of a Russian airliner over Sinai, killing all 224 people on board.