Gunmen killed an Egyptian soldier on Saturday as army helicopters carried out air strikes on suspected militant hideouts.

Gunmen killed an Egyptian soldier on Saturday as army helicopters carried out air strikes on suspected militant hideouts.

The 22-year-old conscript died of a chest wound after the attack in the northern town of Sheikh Zuwayid, medics said.

Apache helicopters launched another day of raids in the weeks-long campaign to crush extremist militants in the peninsula, targeting suspected hideouts around Sheikh Zuwayid, witnesses said.

Meanwhile, a video purporting to show militants attacking Egyptian troops was posted on an extremist Internet forum on Saturday.
It showed a roadside bomb targeting what appeared to be an armored personnel carrier, and included threats of further attacks.

The military has poured troops and armor into Sinai to crush the insurgency which surged after it overthrew president Mohammad Mursi on July 3.

A subsequent crackdown on Mursi’s Muslim Brotherhood has resulted in hundreds of people being killed and more than 2,000 arrested nationwide.
In Sinai, dozens of soldiers and policemen have been killed in near daily attacks.