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| At Least 184 Killed in Attack at Mosque in Egypt | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| CAIRO — Islamist militants sprayed gunfire and exploded bombs at a crowded Sufi mosque near Egypt’s Sinai coast on Friday, killing at least 184 people and wounding 125 more, Egyptian state news media said. | |
| Attacks on mosques are rare in Egypt, where the Islamic State has mostly targeted Coptic Christian churches and security officials in recent years. So the devastating attack on the mosque in Bir al-Abd, 125 miles northeast of Cairo, sent shock waves across the country. | Attacks on mosques are rare in Egypt, where the Islamic State has mostly targeted Coptic Christian churches and security officials in recent years. So the devastating attack on the mosque in Bir al-Abd, 125 miles northeast of Cairo, sent shock waves across the country. |
| “I can’t believe they attacked a mosque,” a Muslim cleric in the town said by phone. He requested anonymity for fear he could also be attacked. | “I can’t believe they attacked a mosque,” a Muslim cleric in the town said by phone. He requested anonymity for fear he could also be attacked. |
| Even by recent standards in Egypt, where militants have blown up Christian worshipers in church pews and gunned down pilgrims in buses, it was an unusually ruthless assault. | Even by recent standards in Egypt, where militants have blown up Christian worshipers in church pews and gunned down pilgrims in buses, it was an unusually ruthless assault. |
| The attackers, who traveled in four-wheel-drive vehicles, exploded bombs inside the mosque, then sprayed worshipers with gunfire as they fled, state media reported. A military official said that a suicide bomber was involved in the attack. | The attackers, who traveled in four-wheel-drive vehicles, exploded bombs inside the mosque, then sprayed worshipers with gunfire as they fled, state media reported. A military official said that a suicide bomber was involved in the attack. |
| The attackers lingered at the scene even as emergency workers arrived to treat the injured, and opened fire on several ambulances, Ahmed el-Ansari, a senior government health official, told state television. | The attackers lingered at the scene even as emergency workers arrived to treat the injured, and opened fire on several ambulances, Ahmed el-Ansari, a senior government health official, told state television. |
| The worshipers at the mosque were Sufi Muslims, who practice a mystical form of Islam that some orthodox Muslims and Sunni extremists consider heretical. The Islamic State had threatened and killed a number of Sufis in Bir al-Abd in recent months, but the group never targeted a place of worship, the cleric said. | The worshipers at the mosque were Sufi Muslims, who practice a mystical form of Islam that some orthodox Muslims and Sunni extremists consider heretical. The Islamic State had threatened and killed a number of Sufis in Bir al-Abd in recent months, but the group never targeted a place of worship, the cleric said. |
| President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi convened an emergency meeting of top security officials and declared three days of mourning. | |
| The bombing comes as the Egyptian authorities have been hoping to stem the tide of Islamist violence in Sinai, thanks to their sponsorship of a Palestinian peace initiative involving Hamas, the militant group that controls Gaza. | The bombing comes as the Egyptian authorities have been hoping to stem the tide of Islamist violence in Sinai, thanks to their sponsorship of a Palestinian peace initiative involving Hamas, the militant group that controls Gaza. |
| Islamic State militants have previously used tunnels into Gaza to source weapons and get medical treatment for wounded fighters. One benefit for Egypt of the peace initiative, which Egypt’s General Intelligence Directorate has mediated, is greater control over those tunnels. | Islamic State militants have previously used tunnels into Gaza to source weapons and get medical treatment for wounded fighters. One benefit for Egypt of the peace initiative, which Egypt’s General Intelligence Directorate has mediated, is greater control over those tunnels. |
| Over the past year, Islamic State militants have carried out a series of attacks on Christians in Egypt that have killed more than 100 people. In October, Mr. Sisi ordered a major reshuffle of his security team after an ambush in the desert left at least 16 Egyptian security officials dead. | Over the past year, Islamic State militants have carried out a series of attacks on Christians in Egypt that have killed more than 100 people. In October, Mr. Sisi ordered a major reshuffle of his security team after an ambush in the desert left at least 16 Egyptian security officials dead. |
| That attack was later claimed by a previously unknown group called Ansar al-Islam, which is believed to have links to Al Qaeda. | That attack was later claimed by a previously unknown group called Ansar al-Islam, which is believed to have links to Al Qaeda. |