Egypt military helicopters Tuesday killed eight militants and wounded 15 others in air strikes in the Sinai peninsula, where the army has been battling a semi-insurgency, security sources said. The strikes near the Rafah border crossing with the Palestinian Gaza Strip began Tuesday morning and were ongoing, the sources said, adding that they were targeting extremists hiding in the area. The restive region has seen an increase in clashes between militants and security forces since Islamist president Mohamed Morsi was ousted by the military on July 3.