(MENAFN- Jordan Times) The heinous attack on Al Rawda Mosque, in northern Sinai, on Friday, left some 235 dead and over 100 injured.
It is the deadliest such attack since the Islamist insurgency in the peninsula intensified, in 2013.
The mosque, in the town of Bir Al Abed, was targeted during Friday prayer; after the initial bombing, some say in an adjacent building, gunmen indiscriminately shot at fleeing worshippers. Some, in cars that blocked the roads, were shooting at fleeing people and ambulances until security forces managed to secure the roads.
Militants have been operating in northern Sinai for several years, but they mainly target security forces. The attack this time is attributed by some to the fact that Sufis, regarded by some jihadists as heretics, were regularly gathering at this mosque, an assumption supported by last year's threat, by the head of Daesh's religious police in Sinai, who said that Sufis who do not 'repent' will be killed.
No group has yet claimed the attack, but militants affiliated with Daesh have been involved in scores of deadly attacks in Sinai.
The butchery was condemned the world over. His Majesty King Abdullah was among the first world leaders to condemn the attack on innocent worshippers and express solidarity with Egypt and its people.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi declared three days of mourning in his country and pledged to respond with 'brute force'.
'What is happening is an attempt to stop us from our efforts in the fight against terrorism, to destroy our efforts to stop the terrible criminal plan that aims to destroy what is left of our region,' Sisi said in a televised address.
We all share the sorrow of the Egyptian people and wish to express profound sympathy with the families of the victims.
The terrorist attack in Egypt should raise awareness to an important fact: while terrorists and hardliners might be defeated on the battlefield in Syria, Iraq or elsewhere, their threats and attacks on soft targets in places where security measures are inadequate are bound to continue.
For terrorists, everybody could be a target to further their evil agenda.
Security apparatuses in Jordan must maintain the highest level of vigilance and increase security measures.
Jordan can not take chances and must preempt any threat to its security and the security and safety of its people.
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