Egyptian police killed in security checkpoint assault

At least eight policemen were killed and three wounded in an attack by militants on a security checkpoint in Egypt's New Valley province in the Western Desert, the Interior Ministry said on Monday.

State television said the attack took place at about 8.15pm local time in the Naqb checkpoint more that 600km southwest of Cairo.

At least two of the attackers were killed, the Interior Ministry said. No one has claimed the attack.

Egypt is facing a more than three-year-old insurgency led by Islamic State after general-turned-President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi led the military in removing Mohamed Morsi after mass protests against his rule.

The insurgency is largely contained in the Sinai Peninsula, far from where Monday's attack took place. Hundreds of soldiers and police have been killed.

There have been occasional attacks however in the Western Desert which borders chaotic neighbour Libya where Islamic State is also active.

Security officials say militants operating from Libya are trying to forge ties with militants in the Sinai, an alliance that could prolong Egypt's instability and scare away tourists and investors who are needed to help fix a battered economy.