An attack on an Egyptian military checkpoint has killed 12 soldiers and wounded 6 others in the Sinai Peninsula.

This comes as the Egyptian security forces are fighting jihadists in the northern Sinai. The Islamic State militant group has claimed responsibility for the attack, who fired mortar rounds and rockets at the army post.

An army spokesman said 15 terrorists were killed, but ISIL responded saying its "soldiers" were "safe and sound" and that they had seized arms and ammunitions during the attack.