Former Egyptian vice-president Mohamed ElBaradei tweeted a verse from the Quran on Friday in apparent response to the coordinated militant attacks in Sinai that killed at least thirty people the day before.

"Whoever kills a soul unless for a soul or for corruption (done) in the land - it is as if he had slain mankind entirely" read the tweet, quoting sura 5, verse 32 of the Quran.

A series of attacks in North Sinai on Thursday killed at least thirty people, including a number of civilians. Official death tolls have yet to be released.

Militant group Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis claimed responsibility for the attack via an affiliated Twiter account.

Attacks by militant groups based in North Sinai have spiked since the ouster of president Mohamed Morsi in July 2013, with security forces being the primary targets. The armed forces have responded by waging a military campaign aimed at eradicating militants from Sinai.

ElBaradei, the former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, resigned from his post as Egypt's vice-president for international affairs on 14 August 2013, the day when security forces violently dispersed two Brotherhood-led protest camps in Cairo, killing hundreds. He left Egypt shortly after.