Shell kills two children in Egypt's Sinai

Cairo (AFP) - A shell slammed into a house in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula on Saturday killing a woman and two children as the army battles Islamic State group jihadists, medical and security sources said.

It was not immediately clear which side fired the shell in the North Sinai town of Sheikh Zuweid, scene of deadly fighting earlier this week.

A woman and a teenage girl were also seriously wounded, the sources said.

The government called in air strikes on Wednesday after a spectacular IS attack in Sheikh Zuweid left dozens dead.

The army said 17 soldiers and 100 militants had been killed. But medical and security officials said the death toll was at least 70 people -- mostly soldiers -- as well as dozens of jihadists.

The violence poses a major test for President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the former army chief who has pledged to eliminate the militants.