IS launch fresh attacks on Egyptian forces in Sinai

An Islamic State group attack on Egyptian forces in the Sinai on Sunday has left at least four troops and two local tribesmen accompanying the army convoy dead.

The attack took place in the city of Sheikh Zuweid in the northern Sinai province, which has been one of the epicentres for violence in the peninsular.

Local reports said that a IS car bomb struck the convoy as it passed through Sheikh Zuweid killing six men - including two officers - and injuring at least three others.

Another officer was killed when a military vehicle struck a landmine in the central Sinai province.

The New Arab's Arabic service said that the two local gunmen killed in the IS bomb attack were from the al-Tarabin tribe.

It was the first time fighters from the tribe had accompanied the military on a patrol in the troubled region since a deadly attack on other men from al-Tarabin by IS last week.

The al-Tarabin declared war on IS after 15 tribesmen were killed in an ambush at a checkpoint last Wednesday.

IS claimed responsibility for the assault, declaring the al-Tarabin "government collaborators" and "pro-army".

A number of other tribes have launched their own local wars on IS in the region, with bloody and brutal consequences for both sides.

IS has emerged from the chaos of war in the Sinai, after local tribes led an armed local uprising against President Abel Fatah al-Sisi's government following a military coup in 2013.

Heavy-handed tactics by the military - including forced evictions of civilians and summary executions - have forced more tribes into the hands of the insurgency. 

Some tribes who are fighting the military in the Sinai are said to be unaffiliated with IS, and part of local smuggling gangs or a non-radical insurgency.