Global leaders condemn #EgyptMosqueAttack: 'World cannot tolerate terrorism'
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Cairo, November 25: The entire world is condemning the Friday attack on a packed mosque in Sinai region in Egypt which is one of the deadliest attacks the world has seen in recent memory. Nearly unarmed 235 worshippers were killed and 109 wounded when a bomb explosion ripped through the Rawda mosque, roughly 40 kilometres west of the North Sinai capital of El-Arish, before gunmen opened fire on the peaceful Sufi worshippers gathered for weekly Friday prayers.
Witnesses told media that fully armed attackers entered the mosque, killing more people than they injured. They were wearing masks and military uniforms.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and India's Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj were among first to condemn the ghastly attack. PM Modi tweeted that India resolutely supports the fight against all forms of terrorism and stands with the people as well as Government of Egypt.
US President Donald Trump condemned on Twitter the "horrible and cowardly terrorist attack on innocent and defenceless worshippers". He said: The world cannot tolerate terrorism, we must defeat them militarily and discredit the extremist ideology that forms the basis of their existence!
Russian President Vladimir Putin sent condolences to Sisi, calling the attack "striking for its cruelty and cynicism", while condemnations poured in from Israel, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and other countries.
UK foreign minister Boris Johnson decried the "barbaric attack", while his French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian labelled it "despicable".
The grand imam of Cairo's Al-Azhar, Sheikh Ahmed el-Tayeb, condemned "in the strongest terms this barbaric terrorist attack".
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi declared three days of mourning and pledged to "respond with brutal force". "The army and police will avenge our martyrs and return security and stability with force in the coming short period," he added in a televised speech.
It is believed that the Islamic State is behind the attack as the Sinai region is predominantly a Sufi populated region was receiving threats from Islamic extremists.