All options open in securing release of kidnapped soldiers: Egyptian presidency

The Egyptian presidency said on Monday that all options are open in dealing with the kidnappers of the Sinai soldiers and securing their release.

"All alternatives are being studied for one main goal, which is the release of the abducted soldiers alive," presidential spokesman Omar Amer told reporters at a press conference in the presidential palace in Cairo.

Amer reaffirmed that the country's political leadership rejected any negotiations with the kidnappers.

He also described as "disgraceful" a video that appeared online on Sunday showing the kidnapped soldiers seeking help of President Mohamed Morsi, adding "we are currently preparing for replying to this video strongly and decisively."

Egyptian Army vehicles with tanks head to al-Arish in northern Sinai, near the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza strip, Egypt, May 20, 2013. (Xinhua/STR)

On Thursday, a group of militants, believed to be members of the hardline Jihadist group, abducted seven military recruits in North Sinai's Green Valley, some 20 km away from the governorate's capital of Arish.

Morsi stressed Sunday that there would be no dialogue with the kidnappers and promised comprehensive development in Sinai as one of the means of combating growing extremism in the peninsula.