Cairo, Ramadan 20, 1433, Aug 8, 2012, SPA - Clashes intensified in Egypt's North Sinai early Wednesday as Egyptian forces launched aerial strikes on militants in response to a series of attacks by masked gunmen on military checkpoints. Egyptian Army Apache helicopters fired rockets at armed militants and there were numerous militant casualties, Gen. Ahmed Bakr, head of North Sinai security was quoted as saying by CNN. These strikes came after masked gunmen launched six simultaneous attacks in North Sinai early Wednesday, wounding five security officers and a civilian. --SPA 13:11 LOCAL TIME 10:11 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/1021152