Militants Target Mosque in Egypt
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 deadliest ever 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 of el-Arish. The militants stopped people from escaping by blowing up cars and leaving the burning wrecks blocking the roads, police said.
President Abdul Fattah el-Sisi condemned the “criminal” and “cowardly” attack, and said that it “will not go unpunished.” He said the victims’ suffering will only “add to our insistence” to combat terrorism. (Read more from “Militants Target Mosque in Egypt” HERE)
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