NORTH SINAI, Feb 13 (Aswat Masriya) - Security forces killed 18 suspected militants and injured 10 others during military raids in North Sinai on Friday, a security source said.

The source said houses allegedly used by Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis, Egypt's deadliest militant group, were raided with apaches. He added that those inside the houses were planning attacks against army and police forces.

Militancy has surged in Egypt since July 2013, with the Sinai Peninsula being the most heavily affected part of the country, although attacks have taken place in other parts including Cairo.

At least 30 people were killed and 50 others were injured on January 29 in four separate attacks against security installations in North Sinai.

The attack is the deadliest since a similar attack on the Peninsula last October. At least 30 military personnel were killed in a suicide operation which targeted a security checkpoint in Sinai's Sheikh Zuweid on October 24, 2014.

Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis claimed responsibility for the January attack, as well as October's attack. The group changed its name to Sinai Province after pledging allegiance to Islamic State fighters in Syria and Iraq last November.