Hours after embattled Egyptian President Mohammad Mursi was ousted by the army, the powerful military institution confirmed on Thursday it was holding the Islamist leader.

Hours after embattled Egyptian President Mohammad Mursi was ousted by the army, the powerful military institution confirmed on Thursday it was holding the Islamist leader.

"He is being held preventively for final preparations," a senior army official told Agence France Presse, suggesting Mursi might face formal charges over accusations made by his opponents.

Mursi was detained along with senior aides after issuing a defiant call for supporters to protect what he called his elected legitimacy, in a recorded speech hours after the military announced he had been ousted late Wednesday.
"We had to confront it at some point, this threatening rhetoric," the military official said.

"He succeeded in creating enmity between Egyptians," the official said.
A senior member of Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood has earlier told AFP that Mursi and senior aides had been detained in a military facility.

"Mursi and the entire presidential team are under house arrest in the Presidential Republican Guards Club," Gehad El-Haddad, the son of a top Mursi aide said. 
Haddad's father, Essam El-Haddad, widely seen as Mursi's right-hand man, was among those held, he added.

Army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi declared the ouster of Mursi in a televised address earlier on Wednesday, as he appointed the head of the Supreme Constitutional Court caretaker leader.

Sisi, the defense minister in Mursi's government, also announced a freezing of the constitution and early presidential elections. He said a "strong and capable" government would be formed and would have "full capacities".

After the announcement, Mursi denounced the move as "illegal" and urged Egyptians to "peacefully resist the coup as he himself will do.”