CAIRO
By Hagar al-Dosoki
Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi said Saturday that "foreign assistance" was behind a deadly bombing that killed several army troops in the Sinai Peninsula one day earlier.
"There was foreign assistance for carrying out this operation," al-Sisi, flanked by top army brass, said in a speech on Saturday.
He, however, did not name the foreign parties that provided assistance to the attackers.
"Egypt is fighting an existential war," al-Sisi said, going on to say that his country will take "measures" along border with the Gaza Strip following the attack, but without elaborating.
At least 28 soldiers were killed in a deadly bombing that targeted a military checkpoint in northern Sinai Peninsula on Friday.
Following the attack, Egypt declared a three-month state of emergency in parts of North Sinai, during which a nighttime curfew will also be imposed.
For the past 16 months, the Egyptian army has waged a major offensive against militant groups said to be based in the Sinai Peninsula, which shares borders with both Israel and the blockaded Gaza Strip.
Since last year's ouster of Mohamed Morsi – Egypt's first freely elected president – by the army, the restive peninsula has seen a spate of attacks by unidentified militants on security personnel.
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