Hours after the attack, which took place during Friday prayers, the Egyptian air force air force today gunned down several militants and destroyed their vehicles.
Here’s all we know so far:
1. At least 305 worshippers were killed and 109 others injured when heavily-armed militants bombed the al-Rowda mosque, affiliated with Sufi groups, in Al-Arish city and opened fire on people attending Friday prayers. The assailants planted a home-made explosive in the mosque in the town of Bir al-Abd, near Arish, and detonated them as worshipers were leaving after prayers. The gunmen also fired at ambulances transferring the injured to hospital, eyewitnesses said.
2. According to
agency inputs, the air forces targeted a number of hideouts containing weapons and ammunition that belong to the extremists," military spokesman Tamer al-Refaay said in the statement. The army
launched "immediate and wide" ground and air raids and two drones attacked two vehicles belonging to militants in Al-Resha village.
3. Following the mosque attack, Egypt President Abdel Fattah el- Sisi had
chaired an emergency meeting with officials to review the security situation. In a statement later, he pledged to respond with "brutal force" against militants and said Egyptians will "derive hope and determination from such pain to triumph in the war against black terrorism".
4. Egypt has declared three days of national mourning. Abdel Fatah el-Sisi also ordered compensation of EGP 200,000 and EGP 50,000 to the families of the dead and injured, respectively.
5. The Indian government has
dubbed the Egypt Mosque attack as 'heinous act of terror'. Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted:
Government of Indian strongly condemns the heinous act of
terrorism that has claimed innocent lives in Bir-al-Abed, North Sinai in Egypt today. In this hour of tragedy, the goverment and the people of India stand by the government and the people of Egypt./1
— Raveesh Kumar (@MEAIndia)
November 24, 2017
We offer our deepest condolences to the families and friends of those affected in this attack.
This incident is another stark reminder of the need to develop a global strategy to fight this menace of terrorism./2
— Raveesh Kumar (@MEAIndia)
November 24, 2017
8. Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Saturday said such an attack is a reminder that terrorism remains a formidable challenge and calls for a concerted and sustained response from the global community.
Expressing solidarity with the people of Egypt, Gandhi said it is an unacceptable act of brutal terror against innocent citizens.
Horrible and cowardly terrorist attack on innocent and defenseless worshipers in Egypt. The world cannot tolerate terrorism, we must defeat them militarily and discredit the extremist ideology that forms the basis of their existence!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump)
November 24, 2017
Will be calling the President of Egypt in a short while to discuss the tragic terrorist attack, with so much loss of life. We have to get TOUGHER AND SMARTER than ever before, and we will. Need the WALL, need the BAN! God bless the people of Egypt.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump)
November 24, 2017
8. Egypt's security forces have been fighting an Islamist insurgency based in the northern part of the Sinai Peninsula which has gained pace since the 2013 ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi. The insurgency has mostly targeted security forces, with attacks on military and police checkpoints common place.
9. No group has claimed responsibility for the massacre.
10. The UN Security Council, while
condemning the "heinous and cowardly terrorist attack", in a statement underlined the need to bring perpetrators, organisers, financiers and sponsors of these "reprehensible acts of terrorism" to justice. It urged all states to cooperate actively with the government of Egypt and all other relevant authorities in this regard.
 "The Al Rawdah mosque in Bir al-Abed, west of El Arish, the main city in North Sinai’s branch is one of the Islamic State’s surviving branches following the collapse of its self-declared caliphate in Syria and Iraq. (Photo: Reuters)")
