By Viola Fahmi  

CAIRO

At least eight soldiers were killed in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula on Saturday amid an ongoing security operation in the restive region, according to the Egyptian military.  

A group of 14 militants armed with explosive vests, machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) attacked a military camp in central Sinai at dawn on Saturday, military spokesman Col. Tamer Rifai said in a statement.  

He said military forces engaged the attackers, killing the 14 militants.  

According to the spokesman, eight soldiers were killed and 15 others injured when some of the attackers detonated their explosive vests.  

Saturday’s attack came as Egyptian authorities extended a state of emergency for three months, which was first imposed in April of last year after a twin church bombing claimed by Daesh terrorist group that killed dozens.  

The attack comes as security forces continued a major offensive against militants blamed for a string of attacks across the country.  

On Saturday, the military said its forces killed 27 suspected militants as part of the security operation that began on Feb. 9.  

The Sinai Peninsula has remained the epicenter of a militant insurgency since 2013, when the army ousted Mohamed Morsi -- Egypt's first freely elected president and a Muslim Brotherhood leader -- in a military coup.