AT least 235 people have been killed and many more injured in a bomb and gun assault on a mosque in Egypt’s north Sinai. So far it has been the deadliest massacre in the country’s recorded history. Killing innocent unprotected worshippers – be it inside a mosque or a church – is an act of evil’s brute force. No group claimed responsibility for the attack as yet, but it marks a major escalation in a region where for the past three years Egyptian security forces have battled the Islamic State insurgency that has killed hundreds of police and soldiers. We condemn the mosque attack in the harshest terms while express our sympathy and solidarity with the families and relatives of the victims. However, the attack we believe should only strengthen our will and unity against terrorism and radicalism worldwide.
Reportedly, the attackers shot at people as they left the mosque, and also at the ambulances. They even had set alight nearby vehicles to try to block routes away from the mosque. Given the nature of such ruthlessness, whatever their cultural and religious identity may be, they are evidently killers without morality and conscience.
Last May, gunmen attacked a Coptic group of Christians travelling to a monastery in southern Egypt, killing 29. Understandably, Militants are now attempting to expand their hit-and-run operations beyond the largely barren, desert Sinai Peninsula into Egypt’s heavily populated mainland. The Egyptian security forces must concentrate in this particular zone. After targeting Christians, the turn for mosques has come
The Egyptian government and people should equally respond to such acts of terror with equal brute force where we to stand beside them. Moreover, we expect the Egyptian people to remain steadfast in their long-lasting battle against derailed radicals and terrorists. Lastly, faraway at home our government shouldn’t take the attack as an isolated terror attack at a distant country – our mosques too can come under attack any time.
