Egypt military says 26 soldiers killed or wounded in Sinai attacks

Cairo : Twenty-six Egyptian soldiers were killed or wounded on Friday in attacks on several checkpoints in Sinai that included car bombings, the military said in a statement.

The military said it killed 40 assailants as it clashed with extremists in North Sinai, where the Islamic State group is leading a deadly insurgency.

Security officials said ambulances raced to the sites of the attacks south of the town of Rafah bordering the Palestinian Gaza Strip.

Jihadists have killed hundreds of policemen and soldiers in attacks in North Sinai since the military toppled Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013 and launched a deadly crackdown on his supporters.

IS has also attacked tourists, killing all 224 on board a Russian plane carrying holidaymakers in 2015, as well as Christian churches in mainland Egypt.