25 militants killed in Egypt's Sinai

At least 25 militants were killed Saturday during a military raid in Egypt's North Sinai province, an official said.

The military raid started Friday afternoon in the city of Sheikh Zuweid near the Israeli border, the official told Xinhua.

According to the official, the militants belonged to the Sinai-based Al Qaeda inspired Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis group, which has claimed responsibility for a number of deadly terrorist attacks since the ouster of former President Mohamed Morsi last year.

"The massive military ground and air raid targeted the group's hideouts in Sheikh Zuweid," said the source.

The raid came in response to the killing of two police and military officers by gunmen Friday.

Last week, militants killed 22 military officers at a checkpoint in Al-Wadi al-Gadid province, about 600 km southwest of the capital Cairo.

Extremist self-proclaimed Islamist groups which refer to Morsi's overthrow as "a military coup" say their attacks were in retaliation for the harsh security crackdown on the major sit-ins of Morsi's supporters in August 2013, which left at least 1,000 killed.