Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al Sisi has declared a three-month emergency in parts of the Sinai Peninsula after a suicide car bombing killed at least 30 soldiers Friday.
The car bomb attack was carried out by a suspected jihadist who rammed his explosive-filled vehicle into a checkpoint, security officials said.
A presidential decree said that the emergency measures would begin Saturday and will last for three months.
"The army and the police will take all necessary measures to tackle the dangers of terrorism and its financing, to preserve the security of the region ... and protect the lives of citizens," the presidential decree said, reports The Guardian.
The president also announced a three-day curfew starting Saturday and the closure of Rafah crossing into Gaza, the only non-Israeli route into the Palestinian territory.
According to medics, the attack in an agricultural area northwest of El-Arish, the main town in north Sinai, killed at least 30 soldiers and left 29 others wounded.
In a separate attack soldiers at another checkpoint south of El-Arish, Friday, gunmen shot dead an officer and injured two soldiers, security officials said.
Though no particular terrorist group has claimed responsibility for the attack, officials said that the methodology of the attacks bore the stamp of Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, which has taken responsibility for a series of previous attacks on security forces.
The United Nations Security Council released a statement condemning the attack and repeated its resolve to fight all forms of terrorism.
"The members of the Security Council underlined the need to bring perpetrators, organizers, financiers and sponsors of this terrorist attack to justice," the statement said, reports the Associated Press.
Islamic militants have been fighting against the security forces in the Sinai for many years. The violence increased after the army ousted President Mohamed Morsi in July 2013.
