Militants kill more than 230 at mosque in Egypt's North Sinai
Militants killed more than 230 people at a mosque in North Sinai on Friday,
detonating a bomb and gunning down worshippers in the deadliest such attack of
Egypt's modern history, state media and witnesses said.
No group immediately claimed responsibility, but since 2013 Egyptian security
forces have battled a stubborn Islamic State affiliate in the mainly desert
region, and militants have killed hundreds of police and soldiers.
State media showed images of bloodied victims and bodies covered in blankets
inside the Al Rawdah mosque in Bir al-Abed, west of El Arish, the main city in
North Sinai.
Worshippers were finishing Friday prayers at the mosque when a bomb exploded,
witnesses said. Around 40 gunmen set up positions outside the mosque with jeeps
and opened fire from different directions as people tried to escape.
"Four groups of armed men attacked the worshippers inside the mosque after
Friday noon prayers. Two groups were firing at ambulances to deter them, said
Mohamed, a witness.
The public prosecutors' office said in a statement 235 people had been killed
and 109 more wounded.
Hours after the attack, Egypt's military launched air strikes on targets in
mountainous areas around Bir al-Abed, security sources and witnesses said.
The armed forces and the police will avenge our martyrs and restore security
and stability with the utmost force," Sisi said in a televised address.
"What is happening is an attempt to stop us from our efforts in the fight
against terrorism, to destroy our efforts to stop the terrible criminal plan
that aims to destroy what is left of our region."
Striking at a mosque would be a change in tactics for the Sinai militants,
who have usually attacked troops and police and Christian churches.
SUFI MUSLIMS
Arabiya news channel and some local sources said some of the worshippers were
Sufis, whom groups such as Islamic State consider targets because they revere
saints and shrines, which for Islamists is tantamount to idolatry.
The jihadists have also attacked local tribes and their militias for working
with the army and police, branding them traitors.
The Sinai branch is one of Islamic State's surviving branches following the
collapse of its self-declared caliphate in Syria and Iraq after military defeats
by U.S.-backed forces.
Sisi, a former armed forces commander who presents himself as a bulwark
against Islamist militancy, convened an emergency meeting with his defense and
interior ministers and intelligence chief soon after the attack.
Security has long been one of the key sources of public support for the
former general, who is expected to run for re-election early next year for
another four-year term.
U.S. President Donald Trump, in a post on Twitter on Friday, called the
assault a "horrible and cowardly terrorist attack."
"The world cannot tolerate terrorism, we must defeat them militarily and
discredit the extremist ideology that forms the basis of their existence," he
addded.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian also condemned the attack and said
Paris stood with its ally.
SINAI STRUGGLE
North Sinai, which stretches from the Suez Canal eastwards to the Gaza Strip
and Israel, has long been a security headache for Egyptian security forces
because of smuggling.
Sisi has support from some Bedouin tribal leaders, who have helped the army
locate weapon-smuggling routes used by jihadi groups, security officials
said.
Local militant group Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis, once allied to al Qaeda, split
from it and declared allegiance to Islamic State in 2014.
Bloodshed in the Sinai worsened after 2013 when Sisi led the overthrow of
President Mohamed Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood.
Islamic State earlier this year posted a video of the beheading of two Sufis
in northern Sinai, accusing them of practicing "sorcery."
In July this year, at least 23 soldiers were killed when suicide car bombs
hit two military checkpoints in the Sinai, in an attack claimed by Islamic
State.
Militants have tried to expand their operations into Egypt's heavily
populated mainland, hitting Coptic Christian churches and pilgrims. In May,
gunmen attacked a Coptic group traveling to a monastery in southern Egypt,
killing 29.
Source: Reuters
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