CAIRO, March 11 (Aswat Masriya) Egypt's former army chief of staff Sami Anan has said that he escaped an assassination attempt by unknown assailants late on Monday, but the interior ministry has denied it.

Anan told London's Asharq Alawsat on Tuesday that he was not hurt in the attack, adding that he will reveal the details of the incident later. 

He added that his bodyguards recognized the attackers, whom he described as "terrorists", and said that it is not the first time that he was targeted by such groups. 

"I'm well and I know these groups that always target me and plan on revealing their identities with detail," Anan said.  

Anan has expressed his intention to contest the presidential election that will take place in the first half of this year.

Only he and leftist politician Hamdeen Sabahi have expressed interest in the race for presidency so far, but many expect Egypt's army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to win by a majority if he joined the race.