ISIL: Series of attacks leave at least 100 dead in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula

An unprecedented wave of Islamic State (IS) attacks on Egyptian soldiers in the Sinai Peninsula has left at least 100 people dead, officials say.

Security sources said five military checkpoints and a police station were targeted by militants.

In a statement, the military said 17 soldiers and 100 militants had been killed, but in the past it has given lower tolls for such attacks that it increases days later.

Medical officials said 70 people, mostly soldiers, had died.

They also said civilians and 38 militants were killed as they battled soldiers and policemen in the North Sinai town of Sheikh Zuweid.

Islamic State's Egyptian affiliate, Sinai Province, claimed responsibility and said that it had attacked more than 15 security sites and carried out three suicide bombings.

The attacks were the most brazen in their scope since jihadists launched an insurgency in 2013 following the army's overthrow of Islamist president Mohammed Morsi.

"It's war. The battle is ongoing," a senior military official said.

"It's unprecedented, in the number of terrorists involved and the type of weapons they are using."

"In a blessed raid enabled by god, the lions of the caliphate have simultaneously attacked more than 15 checkpoints belonging to the apostate army."

Islamic State group statement

Militants took over rooftops and fired rocket-propelled grenades at a police station in Sheikh Zuweid after mining its exits to block reinforcements, a police colonel said.

In a statement released online, IS said it had carried out the multi-pronged assault.

"In a blessed raid enabled by God, the lions of the caliphate have simultaneously attacked more than 15 checkpoints belonging to the apostate army," the group said.

Security and medical officials said ambulances could not get to the scene of the attacks because of heavy fighting in which the military brought in Apache helicopters.

"Ambulances are waiting in front of the hospital," a health official said.

"They can't leave. People are bringing in the casualties."

Islamic State claims attacks in online statement

Troops regularly come under attack in the Sinai, where jihadists have killed hundreds of policemen and soldiers since Morsi's overthrow.

IS urged its followers to escalate attacks during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan which started in mid-June, though it did not specify Egypt as a target.

The attacks came just days after the country's top public prosecutor Hisham Barakat was assassinated in a car bomb attack on his convoy in Cairo.

He was the most senior government official killed in the jihadist insurgency.

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi pledged to toughen laws and suggested fast-track executions following Mr Barakat's death, which were approved by a cabinet meeting on Wednesday.

The government designated Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood a "terrorist group" in December 2013, as part of a crackdown on the opposition that has left hundreds of his supporters dead and thousands in jail.

Courts have sentenced hundreds to death, including Morsi, who was convicted of involvement in attacks on police stations. His sentence is being appealed.

ABC/wires