Ministry of Interior forces had on Friday murdered eight insurgents involved in a insurgence assault in Arish this week which claimed the lives of eight policemen.

A ministry statement said security forces had detained five automatic rifles, two explosive belts and one IED, following a fierce shootout with the insurgents, who at a hideout in an olive farm in the desert area of Obour region, south of the city of Arish.

The ministry said in its initial statement on the assault that five insurgents were murdered in a shootout with police in an assault on a checkpoint in the regional capital on Wednesday, while the rest fled the scene.

In a subsequent statement that day, the ministry said forces had murdered 14 insurgents in pursuit of those involved in the assault.

The Islamic State insurgent organisation's affiliated group in North Sinai claimed responsibility in an online statement on Thursday, claiming that 10 policemen were murdered in two assaults: one at a checkpoint south of Arish and another at a checkpoint in a "nearby area."

Hundreds of Egyptian police officers and troops have been murdered in insurgent assault in the last five years in North Sinai.

In February 2018, the military launched a nationwide offensive against Islamist insurgents, focused mainly on northern part of the Sinai peninsula.

According to official figures, around 650 insurgents have been murdered since the inception of the operation, while the military has lost some 50 troops.