At least 235 worshippers are killed as terrorists bomb a packed Egyptian mosque during Friday prayers before shooting survivors
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 125 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
WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT
By IAIN BURNS
DAILYMAIL.COM
24 November 2017
More than 200 people have been killed after a gun and bomb terror attack at a packed mosque in Egypt’s North Sinai province today.
Another 125 people are reported to have been injured, making the attack one of the worst in recent memory.
The terrorists reportedly detonated a bomb before firing on fleeing worshippers while blocking escape routes with burnt-out cars.
The suspected Islamic State attack took place at the Al-Rawdah mosque in Bir al-Abed, near El-Arish, during Friday prayers. The death toll has risen to 235, Egyptian state television reported, quoting the public prosecutor.
US President Donald Trump has condemned the mass murder as a ‘horrible and cowardly terrorist attack on innocent and defenseless worshipers’, adding: ‘The world cannot tolerate terrorism.’
An improvised explosive device (IED) is believed to have been used before it was followed up with machine gunfire from multiple gunmen using four off-road vehicles.
A witness said: ‘They were shooting at people as they left the mosque.
‘They were shooting at the ambulances, too.’
Some reports have claimed the bomb was set off in the children’s kindergarten area of the mosque before the terrorists – in military uniforms and wielding black flags – slaughtered those who fled.
They added that IS militants had blocked escape routes from the area by blowing up cars and leaving the burning wrecks blocking the roads.
Another report claims that terrorists wearing suicide vests hid themselves among the people at the mosque before detonating the bombs.
MP Mustafa Bakri branded the situation ‘catastrophic’ on Twitter.
He added: ‘The terrorists wore masks and surrounded the mosque during prayers, and terrorists wearing belts were hidden among the worshippers.’
A tribal leader and head of a Bedouin militia that fights Islamic State said that the mosque is known as a place of gathering for Sufis.
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