Three Egyptian soldiers were injured Sunday in an attack on the government’s security headquarters in Al-Arish, Northern Sinai.

The gunmen attacked the base with a barrage of mortar bombs, using rocket propelled grenades and automatic rifles, Egyptian security officials told media outlets.

Earlier Sunday Egyptian troops in dozens of armored vehicles and supported by attack helicopters targeted armed militants in the northern Sinai village of Sheikh Zuweid, according to reports in the Egyptian paper ‘Al-Youm a-Sabi.’

Clashes between militants and Egyptian soldiers erupted on August 5, when at least 16 Egyptian border soldiers were killed and several others were injured.

Dozens of gunmen have been also killed in airstrikes carried out by the Egyptian air force in the village of Tumah in the Sinai.

The eruption of militant attacks in the Sinai region prompted the Egyptian government to deploy hundreds of troops in the restive region to prevent future violence.