At least 305 people are dead and 128 are wounded after the deadliest terrorist attack in the history of Egypt. At least 27 children were killed in this attack.
Herds of militants went into a crowded mosque on the Sinai Peninsula on Friday, November 24th spewing gunfire and detonating a bomb.
“The scene was horrific,” said Ibrahim Sheteewi, a resident of Bir al-Abed, the small north Sinai town where the attack took place. “The bodies were scattered on the ground outside the mosque. I hope God punishes them for this.” (NY Times)
The 25 to 30 militants who carried out the attack barged into the mosque with automatic weapons and the Islamic State flag. These attackers surrounded the mosque, posting themselves in front of the main door and all the windows.
The attack began midday on Friday. A bomb went off, which security officials believe to have been a suicide bomber, while innocent people were carrying out their midday prayers. As the attacks inside of the mosque were proceeding, worshipers’ cars outside were going up in flames.
According to an Egyptian military official, hours after the tragic event started, the Egyptian military had conducted numerous airstrikes on the fleeing militants in their four-wheel-drive vehicles.
Although this attack is tragically historical because of the amount of people it effected, it is also significant due to the location of the attack. Mosques are typically not struck by violence in Egypt, as Christian churches and pilgrims are commonly struck.
Due to the influx of injured civilians, hospitals were absolutely bombarded with patients which forced some of the wounded to be transported to hospitals via cattle trucks, like Mayna Nassar who was shot twice in the shoulder.
Hamas, a Palestinian Islamist political organization and militant group, claims the attacks as a “criminal explosion” that “violates all heavenly commandments and human values” because it attacked a mosque (NY Times).
There is still no word on who the attackers were.