Egypt’s President Mohamed Mursi has ordered the immediate retirement of Mohamed Tantawi, the defence minister and former head of state, in the latest sign of the president trying to wrestle control of the country from the military.

Mursi has also annulled a constitutional declaration issued by the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (Scaf), of which Tantawi was chairman, that gave the military control of important aspects of the legislative process and curtailed the powers of the president. Through the annulment, Mursi plans to return power to Egypt’s elected bodies.

In addition, Mursi has called for the retirement of Samy Annan, Egypt’s chief of staff. Both Annan and Tantawi have been appointed as advisers to the president following their dismissal.

The removal of the two high-ranking figures from power follows the sacking of General Murad Mowafi, Egypt’s head of intelligence, less than a week previously. Morsi’s shake-up of senior figures in the military follows attacks against Egyptian and Israeli forces in Sinai, which left 16 Egyptian soldiers dead.