15 terrorists killed after attack leaves 12 Egyptian soldiers dead

​Cairo: At least 15 terrorists were killed by Egyptian armed forces on Friday after suspected Islamist assailants killed 12 military personnel in an attack on a checkpoint in Sinai region, authorities said.

"A group of militants in the jeep vans have attacked one of the security checkpoints in North Sinai early morning and opened fire on security men," said army spokesman, Brig. Mohamed Samir, reported Xinhua news agency.

Eight others were injured in the attack, 40 km from Bir al-Abd town in the peninsula. The official said the assailants used rifles and automatic weapons before fleeing the scene.

Search and combing operations are underway to track more Jihadists, said Samir.

Hundreds of Islamic State-affiliate terrorists have been killed in intensified Egyptian military raids besides arrests of hundreds others in North Sinai as part of the country's "anti-terrorism war", declared following the army-led ouster of Islamist leader Mohamed Morsi in 2013.