Egypt extends state of emergency for 3 months

CAIRO -- The Egyptian parliament approved on Sunday a three-month extension of an already-imposed state of emergency due to security challenges facing the Arab country, official MENA news agency reported.

The parliament approved a presidential decree to extend the emergency state by another three months, starting from Jan 15, according to MENA.

Under the decree, military and police personnel should take the necessary measures to face terrorism and maintain security across the country.

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi first imposed a three-month nationwide state of emergency in April 2017, following a twin bombing at two churches in northern provinces of Gharbiya and Alexandria that killed at least 47 and wounded over 120 others.

Terrorism prevailed in Egypt since the military ousted former Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in early July 2013 in response to mass protests against his 12-month reign and his currently outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group.

Terror attacks killed hundreds of policemen and soldiers in restive North Sinai province northeastern Cairo before they gradually extended to other provinces, where dozens of civilians, mainly Christians, were killed.

Most of the attacks were claimed by Sinai State group, which is based in Egypt's North Sinai province.