Family members attend the funeral of officer Khaled al-Maghrabi, who was killed during a suicide bomb attack on an army checkpoint in Sinai, in his hometown Toukh, Al Qalyubia Governorate, north of Cairo, Egypt 8 July, 2017. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt’s Interior Ministry said on Saturday its forces had killed 14 gunmen in Ismalia province, adding that they were linked to recent attacks against the security forces in Northern Sinai.

At least 23 Egyptian soldiers were killed when suicide car bombs tore through two military checkpoints in North Sinai on Friday, an attack claimed by Islamic State. It was one of the bloodiest assaults on security forces in years.

Egypt faces an Islamist insurgency led by the Islamic State group in the restive Sinai Peninsula, where hundreds of soldiers and police have been killed since 2013.