Egypt held a military funeral Tuesday afternoon in Cairo for its 16 soldiers killed in a deadly attack in Sinai Peninsular two days ago.

The funeral took place after the afternoon's praying with the attendance of thousands of Egyptians and military head Hussein Tantawi, Prime Minister Hesham Qandil and some other senior officials.

President Mohamed Morsi did not attend the funeral due to the concern that his attendance would entail intensive security measures that would cause inconvenience to other people, the president's spokesman Yasser Ali said.

Thousands of people thronged the funeral, repeating slogans that demanded upholding Egypt's security.

A total of 16 soldiers were killed and seven others injured in a Sinai checkpoint near the border with Israel on Sunday.

Morsi went to the scene to check the security conditions and paid a visit to the injured at Arish Hospital on Monday.