Two civilians were killed in North Sinai on Wednesday, amid clashes between security forces and militants near a security checkpoint in Sheikh Zuweid. The man and wife were in the vicinity of the clashes.

Anonymous militants reportedly attacked the security checkpoint of Abu Tawila on Wednesday. The clashes left 19 militants dead while the number of injured remains unknown, according to state-run newspaper Al-Akhbar and local news portal Sinai Now.

This comes a week after military spokesperson Mohamed Samir announced in a statement that the leader of militant group Ansar Bayt Al-Maqdis was killed, in a pre-emptive airstrike on militants in North Sinai.

On a daily basis, the safety of residents in Rafah, Sheikh Zuweid, and Al-Arish is permanently threatened, due to clashes between the armed forces and Sinai Province, formerly known as Ansar Bayt Al-Maqdis. Recently, a number of civilians were killed by improvised explosive devices planted by Sinai Province, targeting military patrols.