Three Egyptian soldiers have been killed in a rocket attack on a checkpoint in the Sinai Peninsula by suspected Islamist militants
The announcement of the number of casualties by the military however runs contrary to the five reported by the official Egyptian Middle East News Agency which quoted security officials.
The difference could not immediately be explained as journalists have limited access to the restive peninsula where jihadists are waging a deadly insurgency.
However, the military said it killed twenty militants in an assault on a jihadist hide-out, posting video of air strikes on a building and two trucks on its spokesman’s Facebook page.
militants loyal to the Islamic State group have killed hundreds of soldiers and policemen in attacks since the military overthrow of President MOHAMED MORSI in 2013, unleashing a deadly crackdown on his Islamists supporters.