Five terrorists and two Egyptian soldiers were killed on Wednesday in an exchange of gunfire following a failed attack on a military checkpoint in the restive North Sinai, Egypt's army said in a statement.

The shootout took place after a militant wearing an explosive belt attempted to storm the checkpoint before he was killed by security forces, military spokesman Tamer El-Rifaei said in the statement.

A number of militants fled the scene of the shootout.

Earlier this week, 15 policemen were killed after a bomb struck a police convoy near the North Sinai capital of Arish, anonymous sources told Al-Ahram Arabic news website. The interior ministry has not provided a specific death toll.

Security forces have been battling an Islamist insurgency for several years in North Sinai, with hundreds dead on both sides.

Militants have also carried out attacks elsewhere in the country.