Car bomb kills 10 Egyptian security officials

UPDATE: Egyptian officials raised the death toll in Friday’s militant attack to 23. Another 33 suffered injuries. It is the deadliest attack on the country's military this year. Five high-ranking officers are among the dead.

OUR EARLIER REPORT (8 a.m.): Suspected Islamist militants on Friday set off a car bomb followed by gunfire at a checkpoint in Egypt’s northeastern Sinai Peninsula, killing 10 security officials and injuring 20 others. A suicide bomber rammed his vehicle into the checkpoint at the southern Rafah village of el-Barth and several other militants on foot began shooting. The militants killed about 10 soldiers, including Col. Ahmed el-Mansi, a high-ranking special forces officer. No group has claimed responsibility, but the country’s Islamic State affiliate has stepped up attacks in the Sinai Peninsula, especially targeting minority Coptic Christians.