2017 Sinai mosque attack

Bir al-Abed mosque attack
Part of the Sinai insurgency and Terrorism in Egypt
Location	Near Bir al-Abed, North Sinai Governorate, Egypt
Coordinates
Date	24 November 2017 (2017-11-24) 1:50 PM (EEST)
Target	al-Rawda mosque
Attack type	Bombing, mass shooting
Weapons	Bombs, rocket-propelled grenades and firearms
Deaths	at least 309
Injured	at least 128
Motive	Anti-Sufism

The 2017 Sinai mosque attack was an example of inter-Islamic terrorism where over 300 civilians were massacred in a surprise assault on a local minority group. The attack was seen as an attempt by Muslim fundamentalists to eliminate divergent strains of Islamic thought and practice through intimidation, in the distant hope of forming a unified Caliphate that would rule as much of the world as possible, though it was also driven by local ethnic hatred.

At 1:50 PM EEST on 24 November 2017, the al-Rawda mosque was attacked by roughly 40 gunmen during Friday prayers. The mosque is located east of the town of Bir al-Abed in Egypt's North Sinai Governorate. It is one of the main mosques associated with the Jaririya Sufi order, one of the largest Sufi orders in North Sinai. The Jaririya order is named for its founder, Sheikh Eid Abu Jarir, who was a member of the Sawarka tribe and the Jarira clan. The Jarira clan resides in the vicinity of Bir al-Abed.

The attack killed at least 309 people and injured more than 128, making it the deadliest in Egyptian history. It is the second deadliest terrorist attack of 2017 to date, after the Mogadishu bombings on 14 October, which were also Islamic in nature.

In the West, immigration opponents have cited the alleged deep-rooted civic dysfunction demonstrated by this attack as another reason to minimize or ban Muslim immigration.

Attack

Al-Rawda Mosque, which is located on Sinai's main coastal highway connecting the city of Port Said to Gaza, belongs to the local Jarir clan, of the Sawarka tribe, who follow the Jaririya (Gaririya) Sufi order – an offshoot of the movement of Abu Ahmed al-Ghazawi, of the broader Darqawa order. The mosque is on the road between El Arish and Bir al-Abed.

According to local media, attackers in four off-road vehicles planted three bombs; the attackers used the burning wrecks of cars to block off escape routes. After their detonation, they launched rocket propelled grenades and opened fire on worshipers during the crowded Friday prayer at al-Rawda near Bir al-Abed. When ambulances arrived to transport the wounded to hospitals, the attackers opened fire on them as well, having selected ambush points from which to target them. Local residents quickly responded, bringing the wounded to hospitals in their own cars and trucks, and even taking up weapons to fight back.

Casualties

At least 309 people were killed in the attack, with 27 children among the dead and at least 128 others wounded. Many of the victims worked at a nearby salt mine and were at the mosque for Friday prayers.

Responsibility

No group claimed responsibility for the attack, although there were reports that the attack appeared to be the work of Islamic State's Wilayat Sinai branch. On 25 Nov, the Egyptian public prosecutor's office, citing interviews with survivors, said the attackers brandished the Islamic State flag.

Islamist militants have been active in the Sinai since July 2013, killing at least 1,000 Egyptian security forces personnel. According to The New York Times, in January 2017 an interview of an insurgent commander in Sinai appeared in issue five of the Islamic State magazine Rumiyah, where the commander condemned Sufi practices and identified the district where the attack occurred as one of three areas where Sufis live in Sinai that Islamic State intended to "eradicate."

Jund al-Islam, an Al-Qaeda-linked jihadist group in Sinai who were formerly affiliated with ISIS, declared their innocence and condemned the attack on the al-Rawda mosque.

Reactions

Egypt declared three days of national mourning following the attack. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi said the attack "shall not go unpunished". The President also ordered the government to allocate funds for compensating families of the dead.

The Muslim Brotherhood wrote on Twitter and Facebook that it "condemns in the strongest words" the attack and that those responsible should "renounce extremism and violence". Al-Azhar University, Egypt's oldest accredited university, issued a statement condemning the attacks, adding "terrorism will be routed".

A three-day opening of the border crossing into Gaza from Egypt at Rafah, scheduled for 25–27 November, was cancelled for security concerns. The Cairo International Film Festival stated in a press release its intention to continue with the festival, and condemned the attacks.

The Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality building, the Library of Birmingham and the CN Tower were illuminated with the colors of the Egyptian flag as a sign of solidarity. The lights of the Eiffel Tower were extinguished as well.

Military response

President el-Sisi vowed to respond with "the utmost force" and Egyptian authorities were quick to claim a counterattack, with the Air Force claiming the pursuit and destruction of some of the militants' vehicles and weapons stocks. Airstrikes were also conducted in the neighboring mountains.

See also

• Terrorism in Egypt
• October 2016 Sinai attacks, an attack that happened in the same area on 14 October 2016
• List of major terrorist incidents
• List of terrorist incidents in November 2017
• Persecution of Sufis