Military officials say 5 soldiers killed by roadside bomb explosion in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula

Egyptians gather around the crater following a bombing that struck a main police station in the capital of the northern Sinai province in el-Arish, Egypt, Sunday, April 11, 2015. The explosion comes hours after a roadside bomb killed six soldiers traveling south of el-Arish in an armored vehicle. The region has been hit by an Islamic insurgency by a group that recently pledged allegiance to the Islamic State. (AP Photo/Muhamed Sabry) (The Associated Press)

EL-ARISH, Egypt – Military officials say a roadside bomb has hit an armored vehicle in Egypt's restive northern Sinai, killing five soldiers, including an officer.

The officials said the explosion Sunday occurred in the village of Kharouba south of El-Arish, the capital of North Sinai province. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief journalists.

Insurgents have targeted police officers and soldiers there. The attacks surged following the 2013 military ouster of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi.

The Sinai-based group Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, which pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group last year, has claimed many of the attacks.

Earlier this month, the group killed at least 16 soldiers and three civilians and kidnapped a conscript. The group posted a video Friday of a militant repeatedly shooting the soldier.