The incident took place late on Monday when mortar rounds hit the area in the south of the town of Sheikh Zuweid in North Sinai.

The attack came hours after a roadside bomb explosion claimed the lives of three soldiers and injured another one in Sinai.

On Saturday, at least 13 militants were killed by Egyptian armed forces during operations in the city of el-Arish and the town of Sheikh Zuweid, both situated northeast of the capital, Cairo.

The so-called Ansar Bait al-Maqdis group has claimed responsibility for most of the attacks in the region. The group has pledged allegiance to the ISIL terrorist group and changed its name to Velayat Sinai.