An army officer was killed on Wednesday in a shootout in Egypt's restive Sinai Peninsula, security sources told Al-Ahram Arabic news website, the latest in a series of militant attacks targeting security forces.

The 26-year-old officer was shot dead in a firefight between Islamist militants and security forces during an assault on a security checkpoint in the North Sinai city of Rafah.

Bombings and shootings have become commonplace in the capital and other parts of the country amid an uptick in militant violence since the 2013 ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi.

The bloodiest attacks have occurred in the border Sinai region, mainly targeting police and military personnel. The violence has killed hundreds in the past 18 months and also led to civilian casualties.

On Tuesday, two bombings in Al-Arish, one of them a suicide attack on a police barracks, killed a civilian and an army officer.

The Islamic State group's Egyptian affiliate, Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis (Partisans of Jerusalem), claimed responsibility for the assault on the police base.

Tuesday attacks came a day after a roadside bomb east of Al-Arish killed three Egyptian soldiers.