Fifteen militants were killed, others were injured as fierce clashes broke out South of Rafah city, North Sinai with military, according to security sources.
The sources added the total number of extremists killed over the past 18 hours reached 18 from the terrorist group Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis, who now call themselves the Islamic State of Egypt.
Apache helicopters carried out aerial attacks during the military raids against alleged terrorist havens. Sources stressed that main and side roads in the vicinity of army operations were closed to protect civilians.
The Sinai Peninsula has surged in terrorist activity since the ouster of Islamist President Mohamed Morsy and the crackdown of Muslim Brotherhood supporters.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
