Islamic militant attack in Egypt kills at least 23

World Today

FILE – This photo posted on a file sharing website Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2017, by the Islamic State Group in Sinai, a militant organization, shows a deadly attack by militants on an Egyptian police checkpoint, in el-Arish, north Sinai, Egypt. (Islamic State Group in Sinai via AP, File )

Egyptian security officials have raised the toll from a blitz attack by Islamic militants in Sinai to 23 soldiers killed and 33 wounded, making it one of the deadliest attacks in the volatile peninsula this year.

Officials say that the militants unleashed a suicide car bomb and heavy gunfire on an Egyptian military checkpoint in northeastern Sinai Peninsula on Friday morning.

The officials initially put the death toll at 10. They later told The Associated Press that more bodies were retrieved from the rubble of a demolished building at the site.

The attack took place in the village of el-Barth just south of the town of Rafah. The officials say five officers are among those killed, including a high-ranking special forces officer, Col. Ahmed el-Mansi.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they aren’t authorized to speak to the media.

Story by The Associated Press