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Egypt says shelling levelled home, killed entire family

El-ARISH, Egypt -- Egyptian officials say militants in the restive northern Sinai have shelled a home near a security checkpoint, killing an entire family of five and wounding a teenage neighbor.

Medical and security officials said Thursday that one of the victims, a five-year-old girl, remains buried under the rubble of the demolished home in the city of Rafah. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they aren't authorized to speak to reporters.

Egypt's military fighting scorched-earth war in Sinai Peninsula 03:16

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. Sinai has been plagued for years by an insurgency, which escalated after the 2013 military overthrow of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi amid mass protests against him.

A Sinai-based Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) affiliate has targeted Egyptian troops in Sinai and claimed the Oct. 31 downing of a Russian airliner that killed 224 people.

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