A house in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula was hit by a shell on Saturday from unknown source, killing a woman and two children.

A house in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula was hit by a shell on Saturday from unknown source, killing a woman and two children, medical and security sources said.

It was not immediately clear which side fired the shell in the North Sinai town of Sheikh Zuweid, scene of deadly fighting earlier this week.

A woman and a teenage girl were also seriously wounded, the sources said.

The government called in airstrikes on Wednesday after a spectacular attack by the so-called 'Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant' (ISIL) takfiri group in the same town left dozens dead.

The army said 17 soldiers and 100 militants had been killed in the attack. But medical and security officials said the death toll was at least 70 people - mostly soldiers - as well as dozens of militants.