Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi issued a decree on Tuesday to extend the state of emergency in the country for three months, reported the MENA news agency. The nationwide state of emergency extension will start from January 13. It will help tackle “the dangers and funding of terrorism”, said MENA. Egypt first imposed the current state of emergency last April after two church bombings killed at least 45 people. It was extended in July and again in October. The latest extension was to allow security forces to “take (measures) necessary to confront the dangers and funding of terrorism and safeguard security in all parts of the country,” MENA reported, citing Egypt’s official gazette. Egypt faces an ISIS insurgency in the remote North Sinai region that has killed hundreds of soldiers and policemen in recent years and has expanded to include attacks on civilians. Other extremists operating in the western desert bordering Libya have also attacked security forces. Attacks south of Cairo in the past week, one of them claimed by ISIS, have targeted Christians.