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gunmen fired at a checkpoint near the north Sinai town of EL-Arish, the officials said.
Another soldier was shot dead several hours later in an attack on a water truck belonging to the army in El-Arish.

Militants have conducted daily attacks on security forces in Sinai since the military overthrew Islamist president Mohamed Morsi on July 3.
Army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi yesterday called for demonstrations in support of a crackdown on “terrorism and violence”, in comments quickly branded by a senior Islamist as a “threat”.

Meanwhile, Egypt’s army chief called yesterday for mass rallies to back a crackdown on “terrorism and violence”, in comments a senior Islamist quickly slammed as a “threat,” vowing to press protests.

With tensions already running high following the army’s ouster of president Mohamed Morsi on July 3, the call by General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi for demonstrations raises the prospect of further violence on the streets between the pro- and anti-Morsi camps.

“Next Friday (tomorrow), all honourable Egyptians must take to the street to give me a mandate and command to end terrorism and violence,” said Sisi, wearing dark sunglasses as he took to the podium to address a graduation ceremony of military cadets near Alexandria.

The general said that before he announced Morsi’s ouster, he had warned the Islamist president he must either resign or hold a referendum.
Huge crowds of Egyptians protested against Morsi on June 30, after just a single turbulent year of his presidency.

Presidential aides “told me if there is any problem there will be lots of violence because of armed groups, to scare me,” Sisi said.
After he spoke, security sources said gunmen killed a soldier in a noon attack in the Sinai peninsula, where militants have carried out daily attacks on security forces since Morsi’s overthrow.

Senior Muslim Brotherhood leader Essam al-Erian said Morsi loyalists would not be intimidated by the army chief’s call for mass rallies.
“Your threat will not prevent millions from continuously protesting,” Erian said in a statement on his Facebook page.

He was referring to demonstrations by Morsi’s supporters which have continued non-stop since the Islamist leader was overthrown and placed in custody by the military.
Tamarod, the movement that spearheaded the mass rallies that led up to the coup, called on supporters to take to the streets again tomorrow in support of the army.

“We call on the great Egyptian people to rally on Friday across Egypt to demand . . . Morsi’s trial and to support the military in its upcoming war on terrorism,” it said in a statement on Facebook.

Nearly 170 people have died in political unrest in Egypt since the end of June, according to an AFP tally, many of them in clashes between Morsi’s supporters and opponents.
Sisi’s address came just hours after a blast in front of a police station in Mansura in the Nile Delta, which Mohamed Sultan, head of the emergency services, told AFP left “28 wounded and one dead”.
Militant attacks on police and army checkpoints since July 3 have killed 20 security force personnel and 10 civilians. — AFP.