Ministry of Interior forces on Friday killed eight terrorists involved in a terrorist attack in Arish this week which claimed the lives of eight policemen.

A ministry statement said security forces had seized five automatic rifles, two explosive belts and one IED, following a fierce shootout with the terrorists, who at a hideout in an olive farm in the desert area of Obour region, south of the city of Arish.

Five terrorists were killed in a shootout with police in an attack on a checkpoint in the regional capital on Wednesday, while the rest fled the scene, said the ministry said in its initial statement on the attack.

In a subsequent statement that day, the ministry said forces had killed 14 terrorists in pursuit of those involved in the attack.

The Islamic State terrorist organisation's affiliated group in North Sinai claimed responsibility in an online statement on Thursday, claiming that 10 policemen were killed in two attacks: one at a checkpoint south of Arish and another at a checkpoint in a "nearby area."

Hundreds of Egyptian police officers and soldiers have been killed in terrorist attacks in the last five years in North Sinai.

In February 2018, the military launched a nationwide offensive against Islamist terrorists, focused mainly on northern part of the Sinai peninsula.

According to official figures, around 650 terrorists have been killed since the start of the operation, while the military has lost some 50 soldiers.