Egypt Attack: 4 Must-read Analyses on the Mosque Massacre That Killed Over 300
The assault on a Sufi mosque in the northern Sinai Peninsula that claimed the lives of over 300 was the deadliest in modern Egyptian history
An attack on a mosque in Egypt's Sinai that was apparently perpetrated by an Islamic State affiliate resulted in the deaths of more than 300 worshippers. Militants set off explosives and shot people inside the crowded mosque during Friday prayers in what officials are calling the deadliest attack in Egypt's modern history.
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Here are our four must-read analyses on the attack.
1. Sinai Attack: Astonishing Egyptian Failure Has Israel Worried
The failure of the Egyptian security forces is astonishing, Amos Harel writes. The assault took place despite the support that Egypt receives for clamping down on Islamic State strongholds from both Israel and the U.S. The attack has also threatened the recent Palestinian reconciliation deal, which could heat up the border between Israel and the Gaza Strip.
2. Sinai Attack: Why the Arab World's Largest Army Can't Beat ISIS
Anshel Pfeffer looks into the root causes of this security failure, focuses on the dynamics between local Bedouin tribes, Islamist forces and the Egyptian government, and explains how this allowed for the attack to take place.
3. Unprecedented Mosque Attack in Sinai May Reflect Shift in ISIS Strategy
Zvi Bar'el describes the power struggle between the affiliates of the Islamic State and Al-Qaida in Sinai, as well as the potential implications on how the Bedouin in the area will view ISIS following Friday's massacre.
4. How Egypt's Islamic Insurgency Became a Powerful Brutal Force
This explainer provides helpful background on the campaign against Islamism in Egypt, from the Muslim Brotherhood to ISIS supporters.
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