In this Sunday, Nov. 1, 2015 file photo, A member from the Egyptian security forces walks by debris of a Russian airplane that crashed in the Sinai peninsula.

An Egyptian affiliate of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) group claimed responsibility Thursday for an attack that killed a colonel and three soldiers in North Sinai, where it is spearheading a deadly insurgency.

Wednesday’s bombing in North Sinai’s provincial capital of El-Arish targeted the troops’ armored vehicle when it was engaged in a search operation, security officials and emergency services said.

Another 12 soldiers were wounded in the blast.

In a statement posted on militant forums, ISIS affiliate the Sinai Province said its members used explosive devices to target the army west of El-Arish.

Militants have regularly attacked security forces in the peninsula since the army toppled Islamist President Mohammad Mursi in July 2013.

They say their attacks are in retaliation for a government crackdown targeting Mursi supporters that has left hundreds dead and thousands imprisoned.

The authorities say hundreds of policemen and soldiers have been killed in attacks, mainly in North Sinai, since 2013, although there have also been attacks in the Nile Delta and in Cairo.

Egypt’s branch of ISIS also said it planted a bomb that caused the crash of a Russian airliner in the Sinai in October, killing all 224 people on board.

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