CAIRO:  Egypt's military spokesman says the death toll from the Sinai Peninsula a day earlier has climbed to seven soldiers after a series of Islamic-State claimed attacks.

The statement from Brig. Gen. Mohammed Samir on Sunday said the military killed 59 militants during the day's operations, which involved air cover.

The spokesman initially said that a shell struck a single checkpoint Saturday, killing three soldiers and wounding four. Security officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to journalists, said militants attacked two checkpoints.

In its daily radio broadcast, the Islamic State group said its fighters attacked multiple checkpoints and military installations Saturday in North Sinai, naming at least two checkpoints and saying clashes took place near a local airport.