One Egyptian soldier, two tribal members killed in IS Sinai attack

One Egyptian soldier and two tribal fighters assisting the Egyptian army were killed in an attack by an Islamic State-affiliated group in the restive Sinai Peninsula on Friday.

An unspecified number of dead and wounded military personnel and civilians arrived at Al-Arish Military Hospital, medical sources told The New Arab’s sister site, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.

It named the victims as soldier Muhammad Jamal, and tribal members Mustafa Abu Khuwaiter al-Sawarka and Harun Hussein Abu Asim.

Tribal sources told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that the IS-affiliated Sinai Province group attacked the military and tribal fighters who were combing the northeastern coastal area in Rafah, which borders the Gaza Strip.

They added that a Sinai Province militant was also killed.

The extremist group has waged an insurgency in northern Sinai for over a decade.

The insurgency intensified after current Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi seized power in a 2013 military coup.

Despite ongoing Egyptian military operations against them, the militants appear to have become more brazen in recent months, besieging vital infrastructure east of the Suez Canal in August.

The Egyptian army is often supported by tribes in the region.

Hundreds of Egyptian soldiers, civilians and militants have died in the ongoing violence.