Death toll from Sinai mosque explosion hits 184- UPDATED

Death toll from Sinai mosque explosion hits 184- <span style="color: red;">UPDATED
# 24 November 2017 15:02 (UTC +04:00)

Death toll of a militant attack that hit a mosque in Arish, North Sinai, Friday rose to 184 people and 125 injured, according to Egypt Today.

A number of militants stormed Al Rawdah mosque in west Arish City during Friday prayers, and detonated an explosive device.

The Ministry of Health said the injured were transported to Bir al-Abed hospital in North Sinai. The mosque was damaged as a result of the bomb.

Eyewitnesses said the militants set fire in cars that belonged to residents and blocked the road in Al Rawdah Village.

Security and medical sources in the attacked area reported that forces halted traffic on Arish-Qantara Road, and deployed ambulance vehicles to transport the injured to the hospital.

Egypt has launched a prolonged anti-terror crackdown few years ago, trying to unroot extremists based in North Sinai. The crackdown has claimed scores of lives of militants whose attacks mainly targeted police and military personnel.

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17:49

At least 155 people have been killed in a bomb and gun attack on a mosque in Egypt's northern Sinai Peninsula, according to state media, Al Jazeera reported.

The attack took place in the al-Rawda village, west of el-Arish, shortly after Friday prayers.

Egyptian state media MENA provided the death toll, citing an official security source. It also said that 120 people were wounded in the attack.

Local media reports said that attackers planted explosives and then opened fire on worshippers while the sermon was under way.

Egypt has for years been battling an armed movement in the rugged and thinly populated Sinai Peninsula, which has gained pace since the military overthrew democratically elected president Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood in mid-2013.

In 2014, following a suicide bombing that left 31 soldiers killed, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi declared a state of emergency in the peninsula, describing it as a "nesting ground for terrorism and terrorists".

Local media also reported the closure of the Arish-Rafah road, further east.

The attack comes a day before the Rafah border crossing, the main gateway for Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip to the outside world, was due to open for a three-day period.

The border opened briefly earlier this week.

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16:00

An explosion has occurred at a mosque in the north of Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, killing 50 people, APA reported citing Sky News Arabia.

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