Egypt mosque attack: President Sisi vows to respond with 'brutal force' as death toll rises to 235
Mosque attack in Egypt
Reports said?attackers hit the mosque with bombs and fired at people
The death toll in the mosque attack in Egpyt's northern Sinai province rose to 235with over 125 injured, state TV reported.
Reports saidattackers hit the mosque with bombs and fired at people.
The attack took place near the provincial capital of El-Arish during weekly prayers, police officials told AFP.
Witnesses told AFP the assailants had surrounded the mosque with "all-terrain vehicles" then planted a bomb outside.
The gunmen then mowed down the panicked worshippers as they attempted to flee and used the vehicles they had set alight to block routes to the mosque.
President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi met his security minister as authorities scrambled to rescue people trapped in the blast.
President al-Sisi pledged to respond with "brutal force".
"The army and police will avenge our martyrs and return security and stability with force in the coming short period," the president said in a televised speech.
No organisation has claimed responsibility for the attack.
This is not the first time a holy site has been attacked in Egypt this year.
On April 9, twin bombings by at least one suicide bomber hit churches in the coastal city of Alexandria and the Nile Delta city of Tanta in which at least 43 people were killedand scores of worshippers injured.
Meanwhile, world leaders including PM Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump condemned the mosque attack.
Also Watch:Egypt mosque attack kills 235 and injures 125
Ahmed Abul Gheit, head of the Arab League in a statement said: "The terrifying crime again shows that Islam is innocent of those who follow extremist terrorist ideology."
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