CAIRO, Jan 31 (Aswat Masriya) - Unidentified assailants set ablaze the houses of two police officers in Arish using Molotov cocktails on Sunday, state-run news agency MENA reported citing security sources.

There were no casualties since both houses were empty, the sources added. 

Earlier this morning, security sources told Aswat Masriya that two conscripts were killed and two more injured after a roadside bomb exploded near an armoured police vehicle in North Sinai's Rafah town.  

Militancy inside Egypt has seen a significant rise since the military ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Mursi in July 2013 after mass protests against his rule. Most attacks in North Sinai target security forces but some have left behind civilian casualties.

According to separate statements by the armed forces, hundreds of suspected militants have been killed and hundreds more arrested in multiple security campaigns launched by the army.

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