Egypt strikes IS-linked militants in Sinai after army officer killed

Egyptian warplanes on Tuesday launched airstrikes in the North Sinai region of the country where an affiliate of the Islamic State (IS) group is active, local sources told The New Arab’s Arabic-language service.

The strikes took place one day after a senior Egyptian army brigadier was killed in an explosion targeting his vehicle.

The attack was claimed by Wilayat Sina ("Sinai Province"), a local affiliate of IS.

Witnesses and tribal sources told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that fighter planes had struck areas south of the city of Sheikh Zuwaied and west of the town of Rafah, near the border with the Gaza Strip.

The militants have been engaged in a long-running insurgency against Egyptian government forces which intensified following the 2013 military coup against Egypt's first democratically-elected president, Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Earlier this month, the Egyptian army said that it had killed 89 IS-affiliated insurgents after the militants launched attacks on security forces which killed eight soldiers.

The area was relatively quiet prior to the IS assault, with the Egyptian army permitting some families displaced by the fighting to return to their villages in June.