Isis fighters ambushed a police convoy in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula on Monday, killing 18 officers and wounding seven others in one of the deadliest attacks this year in the restive region.
Police and military officials said roadside bombs destroyed and set ablaze four armoured vehicles and a fifth one carrying signal jamming equipment. The gunmen later opened fire with assault weapons and commandeered a police pick-up truck truck.
Among those killed were two police lieutenants. The wounded included a police brigadier general. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to brief media.
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) claimed responsibility for the attack in a brief statement carried by its Aamaq website.
The Monday attack took place about 30km west of el-Arish in northern Sinai, the epicentre of a long-running rebellion now led by an ISIL affiliate.
The Ministry of Interior confirmed in a statement that the attack on Monday took place and several policemen were killed or wounded. It did not provide any casualty figures.
The ambush came a day after authorities said they had caught a cell planning attacks in the capital, Cairo. Police said they killed 10 fighters in two simultaneous raids on apartments in a densely populated Cairo neighbourhood. They said the fighters had sneaked into the capital from northern Sinai but did not say whether they were members of ISIL.