(Reuters) - Egypt launched aerial military strikes in Sinai on Wednesday, killing more than 20 suspected Islamic militants, state- run Ahram news website said.

The air strikes were in response to the deaths of 16 border guards a last Sunday in an attack blamed partly on Palestinian militants.

Eyewitnesses in Sheikh Zouaid town, 10 kilometers from Gaza, where Ahram website reported the military attacks took place, told Reuters that they saw two military jets and heard sounds of explosions. Other witnesses in a nearby area said they saw three cars hit. (© Thomson Reuters 2012. 08/07/12)