Egypt’s Deadliest Terrorist Attack Yet
Last Friday, militants targeted a Sufi mosque in Egypt’s northern Sinai region during prayer, leaving 305 dead and around 128 more injured from the attack. This terrorist attack is the deadliest in Egyptian history.
A bomb was detonated inside the mosque after which 25 to 30 masked gunmen pulled up in five vehicles and resorted to opening fire on the crowd of worshipers.
“The scene was horrific,” Ibrahim Sheteewi, a resident of the area, said. “The bodies were scattered on the ground outside the mosque. I hope God punishes them for this.”
In retaliation, the Egyptian military performed multiple airstrikes against militants who were still fleeing the scene.
Hospitals were flooded with victims of the attack, many of which had severed limbs or substantial burns.
“We are swamped,” an anonymous medical official said. “We don’t know what to say. This is insane.”
One victim, Mohammed Abdel Salam, a 22-year-old construction worker, claims he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.
“I wish I never stopped to pray,” he said. “I’m not even Sufi. I was just there by accident.”
So far, no terrorist groups have claimed responsibility for the attack.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el Sisi called an emergency meeting of top security officials, including the spy chief and minister of defense, and released a televised speech to the people of Egypt.
“The military and the police will take revenge,” Sisi said.
I'm a writer for the school newspaper, and in the past I have written for Affinity Magazine. I am also the Editor-in-Chief of the Yearbook Staff.