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An Egyptian army captain has been killed by a bomb blast in North Sinai during a campaign to eliminate Islamist militants, medics said on Monday.

The officer died Sunday evening after an explosion hit his vehicle west of the coastal city of El-Arish, a local medical source said.

Egypt has been battling militants for years, however Sinai-based insurgent groups gained strength after the 2013 overthrow of the country's first elected president, Mohamed Morsi.

The Egyptian army has since February been conducting a major operation focused on the Sinai Peninsula to wipe out fighters aligned to the Islamic State group.

The military says that over 250 suspected militants and at least 35 soldiers have been killed in its "Sinai 2018" operation.