Fifteen soldiers were killed in five simultaneous attacks Thursday targeting security checkpoints in Egypt's North Sinai, where the army is battling the local branch of the Islamic State group, police said.
Gunmen opened fire on soldiers with automatic rifles and rockets at separate checkpoints south of Sheikh Zuweid, east of the provincial capital of El-Arish, police officials told AFP.
Fifteen soldiers and two civilians were killed in the attacks, while 15 militants died in subsequent gun battles, the officials said.