Militants killed an Egyptian soldier while security forces made 72 arrests in Sinai Wednesday, according to AFP.
The militant shot and killed the soldier in the central Sinai's Tamada area, while security personnel arrested 72 suspects in Rafah who were wanted from Tuesday's bomb attacks in el-Arish that killed two and wounded five.
Violent clashes in Sinai have increased since the oust of former Islamist president Mohammed Morsi, with the transitional government cracking down on any militant or pro-Morsi activity in the area.
The government crackdowns have left at least 1,000 dead and more than 2,000 arrested nationwide, and soldiers and police have also been killed-particularly in the Sinai region where clashes happen almost daily.
In related news from Wednesday, a feud between two Coptic Christian families living in Egypt's Minya region left five people dead and nine wounded according to a related AFP report. The two families exchanged gunfire in Minya's Malawi due to a dispute over a piece of land. Three of the wounded are reported to be in critical condition.
According to the report, land feuds have increased since the oust of former President Hosni Mubarak in 2011 with the "breakdown of security" nationwide.
