CAIRO, Jan 22 (Aswat Masriya) - A missile killed one child and injured three people, after it hit their home in the Rafah city of Northern Sinai on Friday, security and medical sources told Aswat Masriya.

Unknown assailiants "fired a mortar shell at a security point in Rafah but it fell on the house by mistake," the security sources said. 

Medical sources said the injured civilians are currently being hospitalized at al-Arish hospital.

Security forces have been engaged in a "war against terrorism" as militancy surged significantly in North Sinai since the military's ouster of former President Mohamed Mursi in July 2013, following mass protests against his rule.

The armed forces along with interior ministry launched last September "Martyr's Right" military operation which was dubbed by the military as Egypt's "largest" military action against "terrorists" in North Sinai. It has claimed the lives of more than 500 militants in the area.

The operation's second phase is currently on going in North Sinai.

Aswat Masriya could not independently verify the content of the army statement. Anti-terrorism legislation imposes heavy fines on news organisations that contradict official statements.

Since October 2014, Sinai has been under a state of emergency, which was subjected to repeated renewals, following a large-scale militant attack on the Karm al-Qawadis checkpoint in Sheikh Zeweid, which resulted in the death of 33 Egyptian soldiers. The attack was later claimed by ISIS-affiliated "Sinai Province".