CAIRO — Fighting between army troops and extremist militants in the restive northeastern part of the Sinai Peninsula killed four children and wounded eight other minors on Thursday, Egyptian medical officials said.

Rafah hospital officials said the children were killed and wounded during clashes using heavy weapons, with some buried under rubble when buildings were hit and collapsed. The fighting took place close to the border with the Palestinian Gaza Strip.

Egypt has been hit with a wave of suicide bombings and attacks that intensified after the military’s ouster of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi in 2013. The local Islamic State affiliate has said it was behind most of the attacks.

Earlier Thursday, the group also claimed responsibility for the roadside bombing of an army convoy in northern Sinai on Wednesday that killed at least four soldiers.

On Wednesday, New York-based Human Rights Watch said militant attacks across Egypt increased dramatically in 2015, despite a commitment to more security forces.

Associated Press