Islamic State-linked jihadists tried to spread their brand of militancy to Egypt on Wednesday, attacking military checkpoints in North Sinai and killing 17 Egyptian soldiers, according to Egyptian military authorities.
More than 100 militants were also killed in the jihadist offensive, deemed as the deadliest fighting in years in the province.
The assaults were claimed by an ISIS affiliate in Egypt's Sinai province where an ongoing insurgency has already claimed the lives of hundreds of police and soldiers, Newsmax reported.
Four of the 17 soldiers killed were officers while 13 soldiers have been wounded, an Egyptian army statement said. Some security sources, however, posted a higher death toll for the army and the police.
A number of militants suspected of involvement in the offensive were arrested, an army spokesperson declared on state television. The army spokesperson also posted photos on his official Facebook page showing bodies of many militants who wore fatigues.
Fighting took place in the towns of Sheikh Zuweid and Rafah, the army spokesperson said, adding that the militants employed car bombs and other weapons.
The army said it would not halt operations until it has removed all "terrorist concentrations" in the area, after a day of fighting. Egypt used its F-16 jets and Apache helicopters in the counter-offensive.
An army spokesperson declared the situation in the area was now "100 percent under control," but security and witnesses later said aerial onslaught on militant targets went still ongoing on Wednesday.
The militants were said to be targeting the town of Sheikh Zuweid, but a security source said "we have dealt with them and broke the siege."
The ISIS' Egyptian affiliate said it stormed over 15 security sites and pulled off three suicide bombings.
Their assault was the second high-profile attack in the country this week. A bomb killed the prosecutor-general in Cairo on Monday.
The attack marked a notable increase in violence in the peninsula between Israel, the Gaza Strip and the Suez Canal.
The militants have been attempting to oust the Cairo government and have stepped up their operations since 2013, when President Mohamed Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood was removed from his post by then-army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi following mass protests against his administration.
Sisi has since led a severe crackdown on Islamists. Since his election in May 2014, he has worked to destroy terror cells in Sinai, spoke against Islamic extremism, and vowed to improve Egypt's economy.
He said Muslims need to do away with things that lead to violence and extremism, in his remarks to January's World Economic Forum in Switzerland.
"We need to revolutionise our religion," he said.
