An Egyptian court has upheld death sentences for 14 Islamist militants involved in attacks on the army and police in the Sinai Peninsula last year. The court in Ismailia sentenced  four other militants to life imprisonment. All the men are members of the Tawhid wa al-Jihad group. Nine of the 14 death sentences were given in absentia. At least one policeman, a soldier and a civilian were killed in the attacks in al-Arish last summer. A lower court handed down the sentences in mid-August and the verdicts were confirmed by the supreme state security court. Another six men were acquitted in the same case and one other died in prison. The Sinai Peninsula has seen a spate of attacks by suspected Islamists since President Hosni Mubarak was ousted last year.