Egypt to wipe out terror

Egypt yesterday vowed to crush an escalating insurgency in the Sinai Peninsula after Islamic State group jihadists killed dozens in their most spectacular assault yet in the strife-plagued region.

The violence poses a major test for President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the former army chief who has pledged to wipe out the militants.

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The military deployed F-16 warplanes on Wednesday to bomb ISIS fighters who battled security forces on the streets of the North Sinai town of Sheikh Zuweid after launching a surprise dawn blitz on army checkpoints.

The military said 17 soldiers and 100 militants had been killed. Medical and security officials said at least 70 people, mostly soldiers, had died along with dozens of jihadists. The reason for the discrepancy in the tolls was unclear.

"The armed forces are leading a vicious war against terrorism," the military said in a statement.

"We have the will and determination to root out this black terrorism," it added. "We will not stop until Sinai is cleansed of all the dens of terror."

The White House condemned the unprecedented wave of attacks, which came two days after state prosecutor Hisham Barakat was assassinated in a Cairo car bombing, the most senior government official killed in the jihadist insurgency.