Egypt hunts for killers after mosque attack leaves at least 235 dead

[Gefn]

Scores killed in Egypt mosque attack

Dozens killed in Egypt mosque attack
(CNN)At least 184 people were killed and another 125 injured in an attack on a mosque in Egypt's North Sinai region on Friday, Egyptian state media reported, making it one of the deadliest attacks ever carried out against civilians in the province.

After at least two explosions, gunmen who were waiting outside the mosque opened fire at worshipers as they fled Friday prayers, state-owned Ahram Online said.

The attack targeted Al Rawdah mosque in Bir Al-Abed, in the west of Arish province, MENA said.

The blasts from improvised explosive devices caused considerable damage to the mosque, Ahram Online said.

Speaking to state-run Masriya TV station, Egyptian health ministry spokesman Khalid Mujahid described the incident as a "terrorist attack."

Egyptian President Abdel Fatah el-Sisi is meeting with a security committee to discuss repercussions of the attack, Masriya TV reported. The presidency has declared three days of national mourning.

No one has yet claimed responsibility for the attack and there is no word yet on what happened to the militants involved. However, it bears the hallmarks of an attack by ISIS.

Egyptian security forces face almost daily attacks from ISIS-aligned militants, whom they have been battling in northern Sinai for several years. However, Mosque attacks are relatively rare in Egypt.

The town of Bir Al-Abed lies on the main highway running east across northern Sinai to the city of Al-Arish and on to Rafah and Gaza.

This is a developing story.

http://www.cnn.com/2017/11/24/africa/egypt-sinai-mosque-attack/index.html

[Gefn]

From the BBC. This story is a few minutes later, but more details.

Egypt mosque attack: At least 184 killed in Sinai

 The militants targeted a mosque near al-ArishEPA
The militants targeted a mosque near al-Arish
Suspected militants have launched a bomb and gun attack on a mosque in Egypt's North Sinai province, killing at least 184 people, state media say.

Witnesses say the al-Rawda mosque in the town of Bir al-Abed, near al-Arish, was targeted during Friday prayers.

Local police said men in four off-road vehicles opened fire on worshippers, AP reported.

Egypt has been fighting an Islamist insurgency in the region, which has intensified since 2013.

There have been regular attacks blamed on militants on the Sinai peninsula, but this is the deadliest assault of its kind.

Pictures from the scene show rows of bloodied victims inside the mosque. At least 125 people were also wounded, reports say.

 map
One report said the target appeared to be supporters of the security forces who were praying at the mosque.

Locals are also quoted as saying that followers of Sufism, or Islamic mysticism, regularly gathered at the mosque.

Islamist jihadist groups, including so-called Islamic State (IS), see Sufis as heretics.

President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi is to meet security officials to discuss the incident, Egypt's private Extra News TV reported.

Who are the Sinai militant groups?
Sinai Province: Egypt's most dangerous group
It is not yet known who was behind Friday's attack.

Jihadist militants have been waging an insurgency in recent years, stepping up attacks after Egypt's military overthrew Islamist President Mohammed Morsi in July 2013.

Hundreds of police, soldiers and civilians have been killed since then, mostly in attacks carried out by Sinai Province group, which is affiliated to IS.

In September, at least 18 policemen were killed in an attack on a convoy near al-Arish by militants affiliated with the group.

The jihadists have also killed dozens of people in attacks targeting Egypt's Coptic Christian minority elsewhere in the country, and claimed they planted the bomb that brought down a Russian plane carrying tourists in Sinai in 2015, killing 224 people on board.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-42110223

[skeeter]

Imagine a world without Islam.

[edpc]

It’s a Sufi mosque and was bombed because they are considered heretical by fundamentalists for requesting intercession from saints.

[mountaineer]

Imagine a world without Islam.

It's easy if you try ...

[Gefn]

I just got an alert from Foxnews the death toll is now 200

[mountaineer]

 Federalist Musket‏ @Patriot_Musket
2m2 minutes ago

Federalist Musket Retweeted ABC News

Now let's see if the "thoughts and prayers" insults carry over to Islam.
---------------------------
 Linda Dessino‏ @LCDessino
2h2 hours ago
Replying to @ABC

What kind of animals commit mass murder while the victims are peacefully praying?

joe white‏ @josephew
26m26 minutes ago

Muslims?

[TomSea]

The Sufis are more peaceful, they are the ones that do that eye popping thing at least in Pakistan and India: Graphic: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3057820/Feast-eyes-Sufi-Muslim-holy-men-perform-bizarre-acts-self-torture-religious-festival.html

My friend from Egypt hated the radicals in Egypt who would do garbage like this. My friend though, a Muslim, got along perfectly with Israelis and Christians.

That Sinai area seems to be where these radicals are found more in control. A great tragedy. Very saddened.




Militants had also fired on worshippers during Friday prayers, leaving dozens of casualties (Al Ahram)

http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/mosque-explosion-sinai-injures-least-70-people-says-egypts-army-1465541917

By the map, that alleged ISIS controlled part of Egypt is right next to Israel up there, they have fired missiles into Israel.  Those Islamic radicals have also been chasing Christians away.

Though, obviously, it isn't all Sunnis, it's people from that branch of Islam that carry out the vast majority of these horrible kinds of attacks. Not the Shiite types in Iran. I don't know the situation as I'm not an expert but we do need to know what we are doing over there.

[endicom]

235.

[Right_in_Virginia]

Massacre: More than 200 Killed in Egypt Mosque Attack
Townhall, Nov 24, 2017, Cortney O'Brien

Terrorists have killed 235 people and injured over 100 others in a mosque attack in Sinai, Egypt. The militants opened fire on worshippers during Friday prayer. It is the deadliest attack on Egyptian civilians ever waged by Islamic extremists, according to the Associated Press.

The terrorists have been wreaking havoc in the region for years, but no attack had reached this magnitude.

The attack targeted a mosque frequented by Sufis, members of Islam’s mystical movement, in the north Sinai town of Bir al-Abd. Islamic militants, including the local affiliate of the Islamic State group, consider Sufis heretics because of their less literal interpretations of the faith.

The IS affiliate has been waging a stepped-up campaign of violence in northern Sinai for years and has claimed deadly bombings on churches in the capital, Cairo, and other cities, killing dozens of Christians. It also is believed to have been behind the 2016 downing of a Russian passenger jet that killed 226.

But this was the first major militant attack on a Muslim mosque and the startling bloodshed eclipsed any past attacks of its kind, even dating back to a previous Islamic militant insurgency in the 1990s.

The militants reportedly fired on the worshippers from four off-road vehicles and blocked escape routes.

President Trump has issued the following statement.

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!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 24, 2017

More: https://townhall.com/tipsheet/cortneyobrien/2017/11/24/nearly-200-killed-in-egypt-mosque-attack-n2413759

[Suppressed]

President Trump has issued the following statement.

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!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 24, 2017

An excellent statement. Presidential.

[Right_in_Virginia]

Egypt carries out air strikes targeting Islamic extremists near mosque where 235 worshippers - including children in a creche - were slaughtered in gun and bomb attack during prayers
Daily Mail/UK, Nov 24, 2017 Updated: 11:59 EST

*More than 200 people killed after gun and bomb attack at Egyptian mosque
*The mosque was packed for Friday prayers when the gunmen began their attack
*At least 130 are also reported to have been injured as medics rush to the scene
*Some reports suggest terrorists shot down survivors who fled the initial bomb
*President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi vowed to respond with 'brute force' to the attack
*WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT


The terrorists reportedly detonated a bomb in the mosque's creche before firing on fleeing worshippers while blocking escape routes with burnt-out cars.

The suspected Islamic State attack took place at the Al-Rawdah Sufi mosque in Bir al-Abed, near El-Arish, during Friday prayers. Extremist Sunni jihadists have previously targeted Sufis - a mystical Islamic sect - for deviating from orthodoxy.

Egyptian president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has vowed to respond to the slaughter with 'brute force', with the air force already conducting air strikes in the area around the mosque.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5114095/Dozens-feared-dead-bomb-gun-attack.html#ixzz4zMzjpnyJ