Egypt official says Sinai extremists kill soldier in clashes

An Egyptian army official says extremists have killed a conscript and wounded an officer in clashes in the restive northern part of the Sinai Peninsula.

The fighting on Monday near the town of Sheikh Zuweyid pitted troops against Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, militants who pledged allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) group last year.

The long-restive northern Sinai has seen a spike in attacks targeting security forces since the military overthrow of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi in 2013.

Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, which refers to itself as the Sinai Province of the ISIS, regularly claims large-scale assaults in the Sinai and earlier this month released a video showing attacks on soldiers that killed several of them.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief journalists.