Eleven civilians and two soldiers have been killed following three attacks in Egypt’s North Sinai, military officials say.

A residential area south of Sheikh Zuweid town in North Sinai was hit by mortar fire on Wednesday, killing nine civilians, said the officials. They added that two more civilians were killed as a missile hit a house in a village in North Sinai.

The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, added that two soldiers died in the provincial capital el-Arish as an explosive device went off while their vehicle was driving by.  The Sinai Peninsula has long been considered a safe haven for gunmen who use the region as a base for their acts of terror.

Since the ouster of Mohamed Morsi, Egypt’s former president, in July 2013, gunmen have launched terrorist attacks in Sinai, killing members of Egypt’s security forces. On January 31, the group killed 30 people and injured dozens in a series of coordinated attacks in Sinai.