Six Egyptian soldiers have been killed in a terrorist attack in the North Sinai provincial capital, AFP reported Friday (October 13th).
"Terrorist elements attacked a security post in al-Arish with hand grenades and firearms," army spokesman Tamer al-Rifai said in a statement.
"The assailants fled and many were killed and wounded," he said, without giving further details.
Meanwhile, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Thursday extended for the second time a state of emergency first declared following deadly church bombings in April.
The renewed three-month state of emergency will start Friday, according to a decree issued in the official gazette.
"The armed forces and the police will take the necessary measures to confront the dangers of terrorism," it said.
The emergency law expands police powers of arrest, surveillance and seizures and can limit freedom of movement.