15 militants executed in Egypt over 2013 Sinai attacks

15 Islamic militants convicted of staging a deadly attack on an army checkpoint in the Sinai Peninsula in 2013 have been executed in Egypt, authorities say.

Tuesday’s executions were carried out at two prisons in the north of the country where the men were held.

The 15 were hanged after they were tried and convicted by military tribunal over the 2013 attach that killed an army officer and eight conscripts.

The 15 were tried and convicted by a military tribunal over the 2013 attack that killed an army officer and eight conscripts.

It was the first mass execution in the country since six jihadists were hanged 2015.

The executions of so many on a single day appears to be a reflection of the government's recently declared resolve to crush the insurgency following the massacre by militants of more than 300 people in a Sinai mosque last month.

Sinai has in recent years been beset by an insurgency, with jihadist groups like the Islamic State attacking targets including army, police and judges.

In November, suspected IS militants carried out a devastating bomb and gun attack on a mosque in North Sinai that killed more than 250 people.

President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi had since given the military a three-month deadline to quell the unrest in Sinai, instructing it to use "brute force".