Egypt's Independence Party has suspended its membership in the National Alliance for the Defense of Legitimacy, ousted president Mohamed Morsi's main support bloc, shortly after the Salafist Front withdrew from the alliance.

In a Friday statement, the party said that it has suspended its membership in the alliance.

"We have been mulling the decision to withdraw from the alliance for a whole year," the party.

The move came hours after the Salafist Front, which spearheaded protests for an "Islamic revolution" in Egypt late last month, withdrew from the pro-Morsi bloc.

The pro-Morsi alliance has been hit by rifts in recent months.

In September, the Salafist Watan Party suspended its membership in the bloc, one month after the Islamist Wasat Party withdrew from the alliance.

The alliance, which consists of several Islamist parties, was established in the wake of last year's army ouster of Morsi – a Muslim Brotherhood leader who in 2012 won Egypt's first free presidential poll.

Since Morsi's ouster, Egypt's military-backed government has waged a relentless crackdown on political dissent – largely targeting Morsi supporters – which has seen hundreds killed and thousands detained.

AA