Militants armed with guns and explosives stormed a mosque in Egypt’s restive northern Sinai on Friday, killing at least 200 people and wounding 125 others in the deadliest single attack in the country in years.
The assault, which took place west of the coastal town of El-Arish, targeted people gathered for Friday prayers at the Rawda mosque, which is frequented by Sufis. Attacks on mosques are rare in Egypt, where the majority of the 95 million population is Muslim. Sufi Islam is a mystical interpretation of the religion and its followers are considered heretics by jihadist movements.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility. But Sinai province, a triangular piece of land bordering southern Israel and the Gaza Strip, has been the key battleground in the government’s fight against an Islamic State affiliate. While the violence isn’t seen as threatening the stability of President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi’s government, it has devastated the tourist industry, a vital pillar of an economy that’s struggling back to life after years of post-Arab Spring upheaval. El-Sisi called a meeting of the security committee, state-run television said.
“This represents the scary prospect that the list of targets they are willing to pursue is growing,” said Timothy Kaldas, non-resident fellow at the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy. “It is hard to know, however, if they were targeted because they were Sufis or because they were perceived to be collaborating with the government,” he said.
AAN Staff
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