Updated

A report by a state-owned Egyptian magazine is accusing the Palestinian militant movement Hamas of killing 16 Egyptian soldiers in August 2012.

Hamas' military wing denied the report published Thursday in Al-Ahram Al-Araby, and accused Egypt's state media of spreading "flagrant lies."

The attack in the Sinai peninsula near Egypt's border with Israel and the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip prompted Islamist President Mohammed Morsi to sack top military and intelligence officials.

The article, based on an alleged report by an unnamed high ranking official, published the names of three top Hamas commanders whom it said masterminded the attack.

The publication came a day after Egypt's defense minister in an address to border guards said that the military would confront "anyone who dares to harm Egypt's security or armed forces."