The presidency released a statement saying that the "heinous crime that took these brave souls and spilled their blood will not go unanswered". "Terrorism will be uprooted from every part of Egypt. All those responsible for perpetrating these acts and acting outside of the law will receive their rightful punishment," the statement added. The government declared a state of emergency along the borders with Sudan several hours after the attacks, while Defense Minister Sedki Sobhi's concerns were about the Egyptian-Libyan border due to weak Libyan government measures to counter the threat of weapons' smuggling into Egypt. He added that the military was coordinating with the Interior Ministry in a large surveillance operation in the area. The president-led National Defence Council met the same night, where it was vowed that the attack would be avenged. The assault was also condemned by Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab, the country's Grand Mufti Shawki Allam, Al-Azhar, the Coptic Orthodox Church, as well as the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights. The Dostour Party rejected it as a "cowardly criminal attack on soldiers carrying out their duty" and offered condolences to families of the slain officers and called on the government to arrest the perpetrators. Hamdeen Sabahi's Popular Current criticized the government and held it responsible for the incident, demanding more effective counter-terrorism measures and the arrest of the attackers to be brought to trial.