An Egyptian tank crew was caught on video blowing up a car stuffed with explosives in North Sinai. The Egyptian Defense Ministry released the video of the event on Tuesday and credited the crew with saving up to 50 people, although seven civilians were killed in the explosion.

In the video a tank can be seen spotting the car and proceeding to crush it, causing a massive explosion, while civilians could be seen fleeing for cover.

The car reportedly contained four gunmen and 100kg of explosives.

Egyptian tank crew crushes car filled with explosives Credit: Egyptian Ministry of Defense

Egypt's Interior Ministry also claimed Monday that security forces killed four suspected militants and arrested two others thought to have carried out an attack on a checkpoint south of Cairo earlier this month.

Egypt has been battling an Islamic State-led insurgency in the Sinai Peninsula that has killed hundreds of soldiers and police officers since 2013. But attacks have increasingly moved into the mainland in recent months.

The interior ministry said Monday security forces raided two hideouts in western Cairo, leading to an exchange of gunfire between them and the suspected militants. The statement did not say when the raid took place.

The checkpoint attack in the al-Badrasheen area of Giza province, 30 km (20 miles) south of the capital, killed two officers and three conscripts.

This month, Egypt saw one of the worst attacks on its security forces in years, when 23 soldiers were killed after two suicide car bombs were detonated in North Sinai.