Security forces killed five members of Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis during a raid in North Sinai on Wednesday. The operation was part of the Egyptian military’s ongoing counter-insurgency operations in the region.

Two people were also arrested during the raid in Sheikh Zuweid, an anonymous security source told Al-Ahram Arabic news website.

The raid destroyed 15 hideouts and two vehicles without license plates, which authorities say are used in militant attacks

Hundreds of soldiers and police have been killed in attacks over the past year, while the army says it has killed and arrested hundreds of jihadists. Civilians have also been caught in the violence.

In October, the government announced a three-month state of emergency in North Sinai and a curfew from 5pm to 7am. 

Earlier in November, Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis, Egypt's deadliest militant group operating in Sinai, swore allegiance to Islamic State, which has seized large swathes of Syria and Iraq in recent months.

Authorities have demolished houses along the Egyptian border with Gaza, to set up a buffer zone in order to better fight insurgents following a deadly attack by militants that killed 30 soldiers on 24 October.