Deadly attack in Egypt
Islamic State affiliate appears to be responsible
A terrorist attack during prayers at a mosque in Egypt kills at least 235. 6A
Suspected militants attacked a crowded mosque during a Friday sermon in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, setting off bombs, opening fire on worshippers and killing at least 235 in the deadliestever attack on Egyptian civilians by Islamic militants, the official MENA news agency reported.
Some 130 people were also wounded, according to the news agency.
The local Islamic State affiliate — Sinai Province — appeared to be responsible for the gruesome incident, in the first attack on a large mosque since the militants began their terror campaign in 2013, the Associated Press reported.
Police said militants in four off-road vehicles carried out the attack during prayers at the al-Rawdah mosque in the town of Bir al-Abd, located 25 miles from the regional capital, el-Arish. The militants stopped people from escaping by blowing up cars and leaving the burning wrecks blocking the roads, police said.
President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi condemned the “criminal” and “cowardly” attack and said it “will not go unpunished.” He said the victims’ suffering will only “add to our insistence” to combat terrorism.
The international airport in the capital, Cairo, saw heightened security following the attack. El-Sissi’s office announced three days of mourning, MENA reported.
President Donald Trump tweeted: “Horrible and cowardly terrorist attack on innocent and defenseless worshipers in Egypt. The world cannot tolerate terrorism, we must defeat them militarily and discredit the extremist ideology that forms the basis of their existence!” He posted later: “Need the WALL, need the BAN!”
Israel sent its condolences to its neighbor following the attack.
Naftali Bennett, the Israeli education minister, said this is “a time for international unity in the war on terror wherever it presents itself: Russia, Europe, the U.S., Israel and the Arab World — we have all been hurt by terror and must unite in our battle against it.”
Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European Union’s executive arm, offered his “most sincere condolences to the people of Egypt and to President elSissi.”
“I condemn in the strongest possible terms this barbaric and cowardly act deliberately targeting peaceful and innocent people in their place of worship. In these dark moments, Egypt can rightly be proud of the heroic and courageous actions of the security and emergency services on the ground,” Juncker said in a statement.
The Egyptian government has been battling an Islamist insurgency in the region for a number of years. It intensified in 2013 after the army overthrew the divisive Islamist president, Mohamed Morsi.
Ansar Beit al-Maqdis (Supporters of Jerusalem) started operating in the area in 2011 and changed its name to Sinai Province in 2014 after pledging allegiance to the Islamic State.
Hundreds of soldiers, civilians and militants have been killed in the conflict, although exact numbers are unclear.
“I condemn in the strongest possible terms this barbaric and cowardly act deliberately targeting peaceful and innocent people in their place of worship. In these dark moments, Egypt can rightly be proud of the heroic and courageous actions of the security and emergency services on the ground.” Jean-Claude Juncker president of the European Union’s executive arm