Egyptian prison authorities on Tuesday executed 15 people convicted of attacks on security forces, police officials said.

The men were hanged in two prisons where they had been held since being sentenced for the attacks in the restive Sinai where militants are waging a campaign.

It was the largest mass execution carried out in the North African country since six convicted militants were hanged in 2015.

The hangings come a week after the Islamic State (IS) group attacked a helicopter with an anti-tank missile at a North Sinai airport as the country’s defence and interior ministers were visiting.