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Egypt hunts for killers after mosque carnage
[ARABNEWS] At least 235 people were killed and 109 injured in a terrorist attack on a mosque in North Sinai, which Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi vowed to respond to with "brute force."

The Egyptian Air Force targeted the vehicles of the attackers during their escape and killed at least 15 gunnies suspected of carrying out the assault.

In the deadliest terrorist attack in Egypt’s modern history, holy warriors targeted worshippers during their Friday prayers at al-Rawdah mosque in Bir al-Abed, about 40 kilometers from al-Arish city in North Sinai. Militants set off a bomb and opened fire on worshippers inside the mosque and those trying to escape. The holy warriors then escaped using 4WD cars.

Al Ahram adds:
The Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis terrorist group have pledged allegiance to the IS group and have previously executed Soliman Harraz, a Sufi sheikh on November 2016; two Sufi shrines in Mazar village were also targeted with explosives.

"The area is known for the existence of Sufi Muslim groups, and it does not have an intensive security presence as it is outside of Arish and far from the traditional areas that host those militant groups," Mohamed Hamad, son of a tribal sheikh, told Ahram Online.

Hamad added that the long distance between Al-Rawda village, Bir Al-Abed city and Ismailia delayed the arrival of the ambulances, while the targeting of the ambulances increased the number of victims.

Posted by: Fred 2017-11-25
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=502401