Death toll from Egypt mosque attack climbs to 235

International Desk: Suspected Islamist militants killed at least 235 people in a bomb and gun attack on a mosque in Egypt’s northern Sinai region during Friday prayers.

The assault on the al-Rawdah mosque is the deadliest militant attack against an Egyptian target and first large assault on Muslims in the North African state.

Isis fighters have been active in the northern Sinai, where they have killed hundreds of policemen and soldiers and targeted members of the Coptic community, prompting a Christian exodus from the region.

Egypt lacks the Sunni-Shia divide that Isis and other militant groups have exploited in countries such as Iraq where attacks on mosques by extremists from rival sects are frequent. Egyptian Muslims are overwhelmingly Sunni.

No group had claimed responsibility for the attack.

The mosque is in Bir al-Abed, about 40km west of the North Sinai port of Arish, in an area that has seen relatively little violence, unlike the eastern parts that border Gaza and Israel. The mosque was used by Sufis, members of a mystical form of Islam that Isis accuses of practising heresy and has targeted before.

The attackers arrived in four off-road vehicles, detonated a bomb at the mosque and then shot escaping worshippers, news agencies said. The website of Al-Ahram, a state-owned Egyptian newspaper, reported that witnesses said improvised explosive devices were also used.

Photographs on social media show bloodied bodies on the floor of the mosque.

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi convened an emergency security meeting and his government declared three days of mourning. A former army chief who came to power after a popularly backed 2013 coup toppled an Islamist president, Mr Sisi has previously vowed to defeat the militants. But attacks by extremist groups have increased since the putsch.

Isis assaults have been largely confined to the northern Sinai, although cells loyal to the group have occasionally been able to strike in mainland Egypt. They killed dozens of Christians in church bombings earlier this year.

Agencies



risingbd/Dhaka/Nov 24, 2017/Nasim