Egyptian Army soldiers patrol in an armoured vehicle backed by a helicopter gunship during a sweep through villages in Sheikh Zuweid , North Sinai (Photo: Reuters)
Twenty militants were killed and 25 injured as security forces repelled an attack on a checkpoint in North Sinai on Wednesday, Aswat Masriya siad.
The reported attack took place to the south of Sheikh Zuweid.
Jet fighters and troops on the ground repelled the attack, a security source said.
The army has intensified its anti-insurgency operations in the Sinai Peninsula since early July after Islamist militants killed at least 21 soldiers in simultaneous attacks on army and police posts in North Sinai.
The decade-long militant insurgency in North Sinai has intensified since Islamist president Mohamed Morsi was ousted from power in 2013.
Hundreds of army and police personnel have been killed. The army has also announced the killing of hundreds of terrorists.
In November 2014, the most active Islamist militant group in Egypt, Sinai Province - previously called - Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis, is affiliated with the Islamic State group, which controls large swathes of Syria and Iraq.
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