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At least 155 people have been killed after a gun and bomb attack at a packed mosque in Egypt’s North Sinai province today.
Another 80 people are reported to have been injured, state media confirmed, making the attack one of the worst in recent memory.
The suspected Islamic State attack took place near the provincial capital of El-Arish during Friday prayers, police officials said, at the Al-Rawdah mosque in Bir al-Abed.
The victims included civilians and conscripts praying at the mosque.
An improvised explosive device (IED) is believed to have been used to target the worshipers.
The bomb was followed-up by machine gunfire from multiple gunmen.
Police said militants in four off-road vehicles bombed the mosque and fired on worshipers during the sermon segment of Friday prayers.
They added that IS militants had blocked escape routes from the area by blowing up cars and leaving the burning wrecks blocking the roads.
A tribal leader and head of a Bedouin militia that fights Islamic State told AFP that the mosque is known as a place of gathering for Sufis.
The Islamic State group shares the puritan Salafi view of Sufis as heretics for seeking the intercession of saints.