At least 85 people were killed when gunmen opened fire and
bombed a mosque in Egypt’s volatile Sinai Peninsula on Friday,
state media reported. Dozens more were injured in the attack.
Police sources told the Associated Press that men in four off-road
vehicles opened fire on worshipers inside the mosque during a
sermon. NBC News could not immediately independently verify that
account.
Three police officers told the AP that militants attacked the
al-Rawdah mosque in the town of Bir al-Abd, which is located about
25 miles from the North Sinai provincial capital of el-Arish.
Around 50 ambulances were transferring victims to hospitals,
according to the Ministry of Health.
State-run news agency MENA put the death toll at 85, with 80
others wounded.
Two eyewitnesses and a security source told Reuters that the
suspected militants targeted supporters of the security forces
attending prayers.
President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi declared three days of mourning
after the attack.
Egypt’s security forces have been battling militants in northern
Sinai for years, but the insurgency picked up after the 2013 ouster
of President Mohammed Morsi.
The conflict has killed hundreds of soldiers and militants over
the years, although journalists are banned from the area and exact
numbers are unclear.
At least 85 people were killed when gunmen opened fire and
bombed a mosque in Egypt’s volatile Sinai Peninsula on Friday,
state media reported. Dozens more were injured in the
attack.
Police sources told the Associated Press that men in four off-road
vehicles opened fire on worshipers inside the mosque during a
sermon. NBC News could not immediately independently verify that
account.
Three police officers told the AP that militants attacked the
al-Rawdah mosque in the town of Bir al-Abd, which is located about
25 miles from the North Sinai provincial capital of el-Arish.
Around 50 ambulances were transferring victims to hospitals,
according to the Ministry of Health.
State-run news agency MENA put the death toll at 85, with 80
others wounded.
Two eyewitnesses and a security source told Reuters that the
suspected militants targeted supporters of the security forces
attending prayers.
President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi declared three days of mourning
after the attack.
Egypt’s security forces have been battling militants in northern
Sinai for years, but the insurgency picked up after the 2013 ouster
of President Mohammed Morsi.
The conflict has killed hundreds of soldiers and militants over
the years, although journalists are banned from the area and exact
numbers are unclear.
Read more https://www.nairalaw.com/just-in-egypt-mosque-attack-leaves-dozens-dead-wounded/