Egypt president urges nation to back push against militants

Cairo: Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi is urging the nation to back his government’s efforts to defeat Islamic militants, saying it’s the mission of every Egyptian.

Wednesday’s appeal came after a car packed with explosives detonated earlier this week outside Egypt’s main cancer hospital in Cairo, killing at least 20 people. It was the deadliest in the Egyptian capital in over two years.

El-Sissi said in a televised speech that it’s “not only the mission of the state to defeat (militants), but also, we as a society have to make our sons understand, enlighten and protect them against this” extremist ideology.

The government has accused a militant group known as Hasm, linked to the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, for Sunday’s attack, saying it was moving the car to carry out an attack elsewhere.