Egyptian soldier on guard in North Sinai (Photo: Reuters)
Two army conscripts were killed Thursday in an attack on a security camp in Egypt’s restive North Sinai, Al-Ahram Arabic news website reported.
Unknown assailants threw shells near the Rafah security camp killing soldiers Ahmed Anwar El-Desouky, 22, originally from Cairo, and Ahmed Mohamed Khedr, 22, from Menoufiya in the Nile Delta.
Egypt's army has been fighting a decade-long militant Islamist insurgency that has spiked since the ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in July 2013.
Hundreds of police and army personnel have been killed in attacks while the army has announced killing and arresting hundreds of "terror" suspects in retaliation.
Egypt’s military spokesman said Saturday that the army had killed 29 alleged militants and arrested 133 others in raids on North Sinai cities from 20 to 30 April.
In addition, military forces are engaged in creating a buffer zone on the Rafah-Gaza border and have evicted hundreds of families from their homes with government promises of compensation.
Reports of civilians getting caught up in the violence have also recently increased.
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