Egyptian president Abdul Fatteh Al-Sisi has vowed a ‘brutal response’ to an armed attack on a mosque in the country’s Sinai region.
The attack which took place during Jum’ah (Friday prayers) has led to over 230 deaths and hundreds injured, the state broadcaster has reported.
The attackers are said to have detonated a bomb and subsequently shooting at fleeing worshippers and ambulance workers at the Al Rawdah mosque in Bir al-Abed, west of the city of El Arish.
“They were shooting at people as they left the mosque. They were shooting at the ambulances too,” a local resident whose relatives were at the scene told reporters.
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| Al-Rawda mosque before the terror attack. |
The attack on the AL Rawda mosque is considered one of the deadliest attacks in the region beset by Islamic State militants. Government has declared three days of mourning after a high level security meeting was held at the presidency.
The attack has received widespread global condemnation with Togolese leader Faure Gnassingbe and the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, being the earliest to comment.
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