Egypt declares Sinai state of emergency

Egypt has declared a state of emergency in the north and centre of the Sinai Peninsula after a suicide car bombing killed at least 30 soldiers.

The measures will begin on Saturday at 03:00 GMT "for [a] duration of three months," Presidency Abdel Fattah el-Sisi said in a statement, in the wake of the deadliest attack on the security forces since the army deposed President Mohamed Morsi last year.

A three-day mourning period has been declared across the country, while a curfew has been put in place between 7pm and 7am in areas covered by the state of emergency declaration, according to state media.

The attack on Friday afternoon hit an army checkpoint at Karm al-Qawadeis, southwest of Sheikh Zuweid in Sinai.

The Rafah border crossing with Gaza Strip was also closed as part of an emergency measure in the wake of the deadliest attack on Egyptian security forces in years.

Egyptian sources said the suicide car bomber detonated his explosives near the checkpoint's magazine, causing it and an army vehicle to explode. Fighters then attacked the site with guns and a rocket-propelled grenade.

The source said the group attacked as soldiers were on break inside their tents. State media reported that 28 other people were wounded, several of whom were in critical condition.

"Most have been seriously injured and not all of them have been taken to hospital yet," health ministry official Tareq Khater told the AFP news agency.

Three more members of Egypt's security forces were killed in a separate attack at a checkpoint outside nearby al-Arish. It was not immediately clear whether the dead were soldiers or police.

Local media said the president also ordered a meeting of the government's national defence council following the blast.

The council is made up of the prime minister, the head of the parliament, the minister of defence and the commanders of the Egyptian armed forces, and is chaired by the president.

The attack was one of the deadliest on security forces since Sisi, in July last year, toppled Morsi from the presidency, launched a crackdown on his supporters and declared his Muslim Brotherhood movement a terrorist organisation.

Since Mursi’s ouster, more than 1,400 of his supporters have been killed in a crackdown by the authorities.

Over 15,000 others have been jailed including Mursi and the top leadership of his Muslim Brotherhood, and more than 200 sentenced to death in speedy trials.