Death toll in Egypt's mosque attack rises to 305, attackers carry IS flag

The death toll in a terrorist attack on a mosque on Friday in Egypt's North Sinai had risen to 305 killed, including 27 children, and 128 others wounded, state news agency MENA reported on Saturday.

"The attackers of the mosque were carrying Islamic State (IS) flag," the statement of the country's general prosecutor was quoted as saying.

"Some 25-30 militants have gunned down the worshippers while performing the Friday prayer," it added.

The attack took place after the mosque's preacher started his speech, when the terrorists threw bombs from the windows and doors of the mosque, besieging the worshippers inside, the statement said.

Later, some masked men, carrying black flags reading "There is no God but Allah and Mohammed is his prophet," broke into the mosque with automatic weapons, it added.

Long queues of the victims' relatives were lying on the ground, some covered with blankets, outside the Suez Canal Hospital in Ismailia.

"My 23-year-old nephew, Amir, who was working as a nurse has passed away in the attack," said Samy Mahmoud from Delta Monofiya province, who came to get the license of burying Amir.

The father of Amir, Magdy, a 45-year-old teacher was also wounded in the attack by three bullets, two in his leg and one in his right arm, Mahmoud told Xinhua while waiting outside the hospital.

He could not get the body of Amir and he was buried in collective graves with the others, he said while weeping.

The case would be tackled as "a top emergency case of state security," MENA added.

The attackers were riding five jeeps and they set seven cars of the worshippers ablaze before fleeing.

No group has declared responsibility for the attack yet.

North Sinai province, a mostly desert area bordering Israel and the Gaza Strip, has been experiencing wave of anti-security attacks that killed hundreds of police and soldiers since the army-led ouster of former Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013 in response to mass protests against his rule.

Now they started to target the Muslim worshippers at mosques for the first time, which is an unprecedented development in terrorist tactics in the country according to security experts.

The law enforcement forces continued their operations to hunt down elements involved in the brutal terrorist attack that targeted worshippers, the Armed Forces said in a Saturday statement.

According to intelligence information and in cooperation with Sinai residents, the Air Force has destroyed over the past hours several hotbeds used by terrorists as bases to launch their attacks, it added.

The hotbeds included firearms, ammunition and explosives, read the statement.

Egyptian president Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi vowed on Friday a "fierce action" against the attackers.

Egypt's military said they had carried out air strikes and raids overnight against militants held responsible for the killings, the bloodiest attack in Egypt's modern history.

source: xinhua