| Al-Rawda mosque attack | |
|---|---|
| Part of the Sinai insurgency and Terrorism in Egypt | |
| Location | Al-Rawda, Bir al-Abed, North Sinai Governorate, Egypt |
| Coordinates | 31°2′22″N 33°20′52″E / 31.03944°N 33.34778°E |
| Date | 24 November 2017 1:50 PM EET (UTC+2) |
| Target | al-Rawda mosque |
Attack type | Bombing, mass shooting |
| Weapons | IEDs, rocket-propelled grenades and firearms |
| Deaths | 311[1][2] |
| Injured | at least 128[3] |
| Perpetrators |  Islamic State |
| Motive | Anti-Sufism[4][5] |
At 1:50 PM EET on 24 November 2017, the al-Rawda mosque was attacked by roughly 40 gunmen during Friday prayers. The mosque is located in the village of Al-Rawda[6] east of the town of Bir al-Abed in Egypt's North Sinai Governorate. It is one of the main mosques associated with the Jaririya Sufi order, one of the largest Sufi orders in North Sinai. The Jaririya order is named for its founder, Sheikh Eid Abu Jarir, who was a member of the Sawarka tribe and the Jarira clan. The Jarira clan resides in the vicinity of Bir al-Abed.[7][8] The attack killed 311 people and injured at least 128, making it the deadliest attack in Egyptian history.[2] It was the second-deadliest terrorist attack of 2017, after the Mogadishu bombings on 14 October.[9] The attack was universally condemned by many world leaders and organizations.
- ^ "Death Toll of North Sinai Mosque Attack Rises to 311". egyptianstreets.com. 30 November 2017. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
- ^ a b Cite error: The named reference
WALSH-nytwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
AP_200was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Specia, Megan (24 November 2017). "Who Are Sufi Muslims and Why Do Some Extremists Hate Them?". New York Times. Retrieved 26 November 2017.
- ^ Ahmed, Azza Hashem (27 November 2017). "Opinion: Objectives of the Al-Rawdah Mosque attack in North Sinai". Egypt Today.
- ^ "Egypt's Mufti performs Friday prayers at Rawdah mosque". Egypt Today. Retrieved 2 December 2017.
- ^ "Death toll in Egypt mosque attack rises to 309". Anadolu Agency. Retrieved 28 November 2017.
- ^ Kholaif, Dahlia (25 November 2017). "Death Toll Rises to More Than 305 in Mosque Attack in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula". The Wall Street Journal. wsj.com. (subscription required). Retrieved 25 November 2017. "Al Rawda mosque, located about 25 kilometers west of Al Arish, is associated with the Sawarka tribe which follows the Sufi order of Jarir, in reference to Sheikh Eid Abu Jreir, a Sufi icon who lived in Sinai decades ago."
- ^ Taylor, Adam. How parts of Egypt's rugged Sinai peninsula have become a terrorist hot spot, The Washington Post (24 November 2017): "It will also reaffirm that the Sinai Peninsula is one of the deadliest places for terrorist attacks in the world. The attack near Bir al-Abd is the second-deadliest terrorist attack of 2017 to date, second only to a suicide bombing last month in Mogadishu, Somalia, that left more than 358 dead.