Egypt mosque attack: Death toll rises to at least 200 after militants' bomb and gun assault in north Sinai

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The Egypt mosque attack has taken the lives of at least 200 people, with the latest estimate citing a figure of 235.

Militants were thought to be have targeted members of the security forces attending Friday prayers at the Al Rawdah mosque in Bir al-Abed, near Arish city in north Sinai.

“They were shooting at people as they left the mosque,” said a resident whose relatives were at the scene. “They were shooting at the ambulances too.”

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Another 130 people are thought to have been injured.

Police officers said victims were being transferred to local hospitals and militants had blocked escape routes from the area by blowing up cars and leaving the burning wrecks blocking the roads.

The Egyptian government has declared three days of national mourning, according to state television.

President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi was due to hold an emergency security meeting.

Egypt has been fighting a vicious Isis insurgency in Sinai for the last three years. Friday’s attack comes after a spate of recent bombings targeting the police and army.

Cairo’s international airport has boosted security following the attack, with more troops seen patrolling passenger halls, conducting searches and manning checkpoints at airport approaches.

The UK’s ambassador in Egypt, John Casson, said on Twitter: “I am disgusted by the evil attack that killed & injured so many Egyptians in Sinai today. On behalf of the UK my deep condolences to all involved.

“These attacks on people praying in mosques & churches only strengthen our determination to stand together, & defeat terrorism & hate.”

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said: “Deeply saddened by the abhorrent attack on a mosque in North Sinai, #Egypt. My sincere condolences to all those affected by such a barbaric act.”

Naftali Bennett, Israel’s education minister, said it was ”time for international unity in the war on terror wherever it presents itself: Russia, Europe, the US, Israel and the Arab World — we have all been hurt by terror and must unite in our battle against it.”