Militants killed at least 23 soldiers and injured dozens more in a car explosion and gun attack on an Egyptian military checkpoint in the north-eastern Sinai peninsula, officials have said. Among those killed in the attack on Friday – the deadliest on the country’s military this year – were five officers, including a high-ranking special forces colonel, Ahmed el-Mansi, according to security officials.

The assault started when an attacker rammed his vehicle into a checkpoint at a military compound in the village of el-Barth, south-west of the border town of Rafah. This was followed by heavy gunfire from dozens of masked militants on foot, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the media.

As the attack unfolded, ambulances were heard rushing to the site. The officials initially put the death toll at 10 but later said more bodies were pulled from under the rubble of a nearby rest house for troops that was destroyed in the attack. The militants arrived at the checkpoint, which is in a remote desert area, in 24 SUVs, and shot at the soldiers with machine guns for nearly half an hour, the officials said. There were thought to be about 60 soldiers at the compound.(theguardian)…[+]