BEIJING, Aug. 9 (Xinhuanet) -- ian security forces have clashed with armed men at several checkpoints in the north of Egypt’s Sinai region. The fighting came days after militants carried out a deadly attack on Egyptian border guards near the border with .

Following the clashes, Egyptian aircraft struck at targets in the area, and troops raided villages in a crackdown on Islamic militants blamed for last Sunday’s attack against the border police. Gunmen killed 16 border guards on Sunday in the bloodiest attack on security forces in Sinai since Egypt signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1979.

The attackers later stormed through the border into Israel but they were killed by Israeli fire. The militants, who have sworn to destroy Israel, have stepped up their actions along the isolated desert frontier since the revolt that toppled last year.

(Source: CNTV.cn)