Egypt Attack Victims Pray, Mourn in Sinai Mosque amid High Security
One worshipper said a whole village had been ‘exterminated’ in last Friday’s attack on the Al Rawdah mosque, near the town of Bir al-Abed - the deadliest such incident in Egypt’s modern history.
Some of the more than 100 wounded made their way past tight security to the mosque. They prayed and recounted their ordeal at the hands of suspected militants when a bomb exploded and dozens of gunmen opened fire, Reuters reported.
The attack targeted worshippers indiscriminately, said wounded school teacher Magdy Rezk.
"It included everyone inside, those outside and those coming in from the street. Even those trying to escape from the mosque were not spared,” he said.
Another man who gave only his first name, Ismail, said he lost his father, brother and several uncles and cousins.
"I was sitting outside the mosque and just started running,” he said. "They (militants) were approaching from all sides ... it was unbelievable.”
"A whole village was exterminated,” said another villager.
The army had beefed up security and set up checkpoints leading to the village and the mosque on Friday. At Al Rawdah, a soldier stood inside its minaret keeping watch.
