Suspected IS militants shoot dead five Egyptian conscripts

Five Egyptian conscripts were shot dead in the Sinai on Wednesday by suspected Islamic State group militants in the latest act of violence to sweep the troubled peninsula.

Local tribal sources told The New Arab’s Arabic-language service that militants from the IS-linked "Sinai Province" group stopped a taxi in central Sinai carrying five conscripts who were returning to duty following a period of leave.

They shot the conscripts dead after forcing them to vacate the taxi.

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On Monday, Egyptian security officials said that suspected IS militants had blown up a natural gas pipeline in Bir al-Abd in the restive northern part of Sinai.

Egyptian forces have been battling IS affiliated militants in the Sinai since 2013, with scores of soldiers and police officers killed amid a virtual media blackout.

Human Rights Watch has also accused the Egyptian army of committing war crimes in Sinai.

On Saturday an Egyptian court sentenced a former officer, Hesham Al-Ashmawy, and 36 other accused militants to death for alleged membership in the Sinai Province group.