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CAIRO — Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi told The Associated Press on Saturday he is prepared to give whatever support is needed in the fight against the Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) but called for a “comprehensive strategy” to tackle the roots of extremism across the region.

In his first interview with a foreign media outlet since taking office in June, el-Sissi sought to present himself and Egypt as being at the vanguard of confronting militancy, citing it as the reason for his ouster of Egypt’s first freely elected president more than a year ago – a move that brought international criticism and strained ties with top ally the United States.

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He told AP that Egyptians had realized the danger of “political Islam” and that if he had not acted, the Arab world’s most populous nation would have faced “civil war” and bloodshed now seen in Iraq and Syria.

“I warned about the great danger a year ago,” he said. “But it was not clear (to others) until the events in Iraq and [ISIS]’s sweep” over much of that country.