A group of gunmen killed eight army personnel in an attack on a military checkpoint in the restive northern Sinai region, where forces are battling a militant insurgency, a military spokesman has said.

Assailants in 4x4 vehicles "laden with large amounts of explosives" attacked the checkpoint in the border region late on Thursday, spokesman Mohamed Samir said in a statement.

A subsequent exchange of fire with forces and the explosion of the car and a separate bomb led to the death of eight members of army forces and three militants.

A number of militants were also wounded in the firefight. "The armed forces asserts that such villainous acts will not discourage it from performing its duty of eliminating terrorism and continuing to safeguard the homeland," the statement read.

Forces were combing the area in search for suspects.