Fifteen militants were killed in the Sinai Peninsula by rocket fire, Egyptian state TV reported on Tuesday, after witnesses said army helicopters had attacked militant strongholds in the area.

The state-run Nile TV gave no further details in a brief report. The army helicopters had targeted two villages south of Sheikh Zuweid, a town near the border with Israel and the Hamas-run Gaza Strip.

An army source said a ground operation was under way with air cover, but declined to give further details because it was still continuing. - Reuters