At least three Egyptian soldiers have been killed and five others wounded in a roadside bomb attack on their vehicle in Egypt’s restive Sinai Peninsula.

Medical sources, requesting anonymity, said the remote-controlled improvised explosive device went off as a military vehicle was driving in the border town of Rafah on Monday morning, Egyptian Arabic-language newspaper al-Youm al-Saba’ reported.

Security forces later rushed to the area, and launched an investigation to determine the motive behind the act of violence.

The development comes only two days after at least 13 militants were killed by Egyptian armed forces during operations in the city of el-Arish, situated 344 kilometers (214 miles) northeast of the capital, Cairo, and the town of Sheikh Zuweid, situated 334 kilometers (214 miles) northeast of Cairo.

On April 17, similar security raids against terrorists in North Sinai’s Rafah and Sheikh Zuweid killed at least ten extremists.

A state of emergency has been declared in the northern part of the Sinai Peninsula since a militant attack on an Egyptian army checkpoint killed more than 30 soldiers in October 2014.

The Egyptian military considers the Sinai Peninsula a safe haven for gunmen, who use the region as a base for their “acts of terror.”

Since the ouster of former President Mohamed Morsi in July 2013, gunmen have launched terrorist attacks in Sinai, killing Egyptian security forces.

Ansar Bait al-Maqdis has claimed responsibility for most of the attacks in the region. The group has pledged allegiance to the ISIL terrorist group and changed its name to Velayat Sinai.