Three Egyptian soldiers, three civilians killed in Sinai
Three Egyptian soldiers have been killed in North Sinai amid a military crackdown in the area that also claimed the lives of two children and another civilian.
2 min read
Sinai has witnessed deteriorating security since the 2013 military coup in Egypt [Getty]
Three soldiers were killed during clashes between the Egyptian army and Islamic State-affiliated militants on Monday evening in the town of Sheikh Zuwaid in North Sinai.
The attack followed a security crackdown in the village of al-Falaq, killing three civilians - including two children - after missiles hit two houses.
The Sinai Observatory for Human Rights announced the artillery shells fired by the Egyptian army resulted in the deaths of Osama Mohammad Salam, aged four.
A strike on a second home in al-Falaq village killed Massoud Mohammed Mubarak, 33, and his brother Nasser Mubarak Masoud, aged 13.
A statement from Wilayat Sinai, the province's IS franchise, said that five Egyptian soldiers were killed in central Sinai following the targeting of a tank.
The Egyptian army has expanded its security crackdown in the restive province since Monday morning in the cities of al-Arish, Sheikh Zuwaid and al-Falaq.
IS said again that it carried out the bombing in October of a Russian airliner over Sinai, killing all 224 people on board.
Sinai militants pledged allegiance to IS in November 2014. The group controls parts of Iraq and Syria and also has a presence in conflict-ridden Libya.
Militants, who have long used Sinai as a base, stepped up a violent insurgency after the military overthrew Egypt's president Mohamed Morsi in 2013.
Human rights groups have accused the Egyptian military of committing numerous abuses in the resulting counter-insurgency.
The attack followed a security crackdown in the village of al-Falaq, killing three civilians - including two children - after missiles hit two houses.
The Sinai Observatory for Human Rights announced the artillery shells fired by the Egyptian army resulted in the deaths of Osama Mohammad Salam, aged four.
A strike on a second home in al-Falaq village killed Massoud Mohammed Mubarak, 33, and his brother Nasser Mubarak Masoud, aged 13.
A statement from Wilayat Sinai, the province's IS franchise, said that five Egyptian soldiers were killed in central Sinai following the targeting of a tank.
The Egyptian army has expanded its security crackdown in the restive province since Monday morning in the cities of al-Arish, Sheikh Zuwaid and al-Falaq.
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IS said again that it carried out the bombing in October of a Russian airliner over Sinai, killing all 224 people on board.
Sinai militants pledged allegiance to IS in November 2014. The group controls parts of Iraq and Syria and also has a presence in conflict-ridden Libya.
Militants, who have long used Sinai as a base, stepped up a violent insurgency after the military overthrew Egypt's president Mohamed Morsi in 2013.
Human rights groups have accused the Egyptian military of committing numerous abuses in the resulting counter-insurgency.
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