CAIRO

 At least 20 people were killed and 36 others injured in multiple blasts that rocked the northern quadrant of Egypt's Sinai Peninsula on Thursday, a medical source said.

"Some 20 people were killed and around 36 others – both civilians and military men – injured in these terrorist attacks in Arish city," the source was quoted as saying by Egypt's state television.

Three blasts had rocked security facilities in Arish in North Sinai earlier Thursday.

A security source said the North Sinai Security Directorate and a military site had been attacked by 10 mortar shells and booby-trapped car.

The state television said later that an officer and a soldier had been injured in another attack on a checkpoint in Sheikh Zuweid in North Sinai.

Sinai has remained in a state of lawlessness for more than one year. The Egyptian army continues to wage a major crackdown on militants in the peninsula, which shares borders with both Israel and the Gaza Strip.

In October, 31 soldiers were killed in an attack on a military site in North Sinai, prompting Egyptian authorities to declare a state of emergency and curfew in some areas of the restive province.