Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (C) attendes an urgent meeting after the gunmen attack in Minya, together with leaders of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces and the Supreme Council for Police, at the Ittihadiya presidential palace in Cairo, Egypt May 26, 2017.

:: Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi extended a state of emergency declared after twin church bombings in April by militants, in a decree issued in the official gazette on Thursday.

The renewed three-month state of emergency will start on July 10, according to the decree.

Parliament approved the initial state of emergency in April after the two church bombings claimed by ISIS that killed at least 45 people.

The militant group said it was behind the bombings in the cities of Tanta and Alexandria, and it threatened further attacks against Egypt’s Coptic Christian minority.

Militants also claimed a Cairo church bombing in December that killed 29 people.

The emergency law expands police powers of arrest, surveillance and seizures and can limit freedom of movement.