1 00:00:02,500 --> 00:00:05,333 JUDY WOODRUFF: A mosque in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula was the scene of mayhem and carnage today. 2 00:00:07,166 --> 00:00:10,933 At least 235 people were killed, and more than 100 injured, as militants attacked a 3 00:00:12,600 --> 00:00:17,066 crowded house of worship during Friday prayers in the town of Bir al-Abd. 4 00:00:18,933 --> 00:00:22,266 The attackers detonated explosives and shot worshipers as they tried to escape. 5 00:00:24,066 --> 00:00:26,466 Egypt's government declared three days of mourning across the nation. 6 00:00:26,466 --> 00:00:30,633 President Trump condemned the attack, and spoke this afternoon with Egypt's President 7 00:00:30,633 --> 00:00:32,133 Abdel Fattah El-Sisi. 8 00:00:32,133 --> 00:00:36,300 Earlier, Sisi declared that the attack will not go unpunished. 9 00:00:36,300 --> 00:00:41,300 For more, I spoke a short time ago with New York Times Cairo bureau chief Declan Walsh. 10 00:00:44,100 --> 00:00:45,966 Declan Walsh, thank you for joining us. 11 00:00:45,966 --> 00:00:49,200 This seems to have been an unusually ruthless attack. 12 00:00:49,200 --> 00:00:51,766 They kept on shooting as the ambulances arrived? 13 00:00:51,766 --> 00:00:54,233 DECLAN WALSH, The New York Times: Absolutely. 14 00:00:54,233 --> 00:00:55,966 That's right. 15 00:00:55,966 --> 00:00:58,833 There were -- the team -- the gunmen arrived in several vehicles. 16 00:00:58,833 --> 00:01:00,666 They split up into teams. 17 00:01:00,666 --> 00:01:03,700 Some of the gunmen went inside the mosque. 18 00:01:03,700 --> 00:01:08,200 They started shooting the worshipers immediately after a bomb had gone off. 19 00:01:08,200 --> 00:01:12,633 Other gunmen waited outside and shot people as they tried to flee. 20 00:01:12,633 --> 00:01:17,633 JUDY WOODRUFF: And it was unusual that, in the past, they have been going typically after 21 00:01:19,600 --> 00:01:20,600 Christians. 22 00:01:20,600 --> 00:01:22,033 This time, it was at a mosque. 23 00:01:22,033 --> 00:01:23,033 DECLAN WALSH: That's right. 24 00:01:23,033 --> 00:01:25,600 This is extremely unusual. 25 00:01:25,600 --> 00:01:29,600 This attack is extremely unusual, both by the size of the attack, the number of people 26 00:01:29,600 --> 00:01:31,100 who have been killed. 27 00:01:31,100 --> 00:01:35,433 This is the largest attack in modern Egyptian history. 28 00:01:35,433 --> 00:01:39,766 And it's also, as you say, by dint of the target. 29 00:01:39,766 --> 00:01:44,733 Over the last year, Islamic State have carried out a number of attacks on Christian, Coptic 30 00:01:44,733 --> 00:01:49,733 Christian churches here in Egypt, but they have never turned their guns on a Muslim mosque. 31 00:01:52,666 --> 00:01:57,666 Now, we do not yet have a claim of responsibility for this attack, but it's important to note 32 00:01:59,666 --> 00:02:04,000 that Islamic State, the local affiliate of Islamic State is the most significant, the 33 00:02:05,933 --> 00:02:09,533 most powerful group that is operating in that area, and they had previously made threats 34 00:02:10,300 --> 00:02:12,333 against Sufi Muslims. 35 00:02:12,333 --> 00:02:17,333 So these are Muslims who belong -- who have a particular practice which extremists find 36 00:02:18,266 --> 00:02:20,200 to be heretical. 37 00:02:20,200 --> 00:02:24,833 And they have made threats against this group in Sinai in the past. 38 00:02:24,833 --> 00:02:29,000 They have killed about a year ago a senior Sunni cleric. 39 00:02:29,000 --> 00:02:33,066 They beheaded him, and they said that there would be more violence to come. 40 00:02:33,066 --> 00:02:35,566 And now they appear to have made good on that threat. 41 00:02:35,566 --> 00:02:39,333 JUDY WOODRUFF: Why isn't there more security in these places? 42 00:02:39,333 --> 00:02:42,333 DECLAN WALSH: That's an excellent question. 43 00:02:42,333 --> 00:02:47,333 The Egyptian state has been battling the Islamic State in Sinai now for the last three or four 44 00:02:47,833 --> 00:02:49,766 years. 45 00:02:49,766 --> 00:02:53,000 It has poured huge resources into the fight in that part of the country. 46 00:02:53,000 --> 00:02:57,833 And we, as the foreign press and even most of the Egyptian press, have relatively little 47 00:02:57,833 --> 00:03:02,666 visibility on what goes on over there because it's a closed area to foreigners and indeed 48 00:03:02,666 --> 00:03:04,800 to many Egyptians. 49 00:03:04,800 --> 00:03:09,066 But we do know that there are ambushes against the Egyptian military and that the Egyptian 50 00:03:09,066 --> 00:03:11,466 military has responded with some force. 51 00:03:11,466 --> 00:03:16,466 So, this again is going to raise questions, particularly for President Sisi, as to why 52 00:03:18,366 --> 00:03:22,433 his military has been unable to push back the Islamic State, to stop them from carrying 53 00:03:23,600 --> 00:03:25,600 out attacks like this with such impunity. 54 00:03:25,600 --> 00:03:30,533 It's worth recalling that earlier on today, it seems that these groups, these gunmen who 55 00:03:32,433 --> 00:03:36,866 possibly numbered in the dozens were able to carry out this attack with no hindrance. 56 00:03:38,833 --> 00:03:42,166 They even waited at the site of the attack while the first-responders and the ambulances 57 00:03:43,533 --> 00:03:46,533 turned up, and they opened fire on some of the ambulances. 58 00:03:46,533 --> 00:03:51,533 JUDY WOODRUFF: And, as you point out, President El-Sisi said he's going to do something about 59 00:03:52,933 --> 00:03:54,466 it. 60 00:03:54,466 --> 00:03:56,633 He made a statement today, this will not go unpunished. 61 00:03:56,633 --> 00:03:59,633 But, as you have point out, there have been these other attacks. 62 00:03:59,633 --> 00:04:03,433 Do people believe that he will do something about this? 63 00:04:03,433 --> 00:04:07,233 DECLAN WALSH: I think there's going to be a particular type of pressure on President 64 00:04:07,233 --> 00:04:11,766 Sisi because a mosque has been attacked this time. 65 00:04:11,766 --> 00:04:16,433 On the other hand, this is an attack that's taken place in Sinai. 66 00:04:16,433 --> 00:04:20,100 And often, the rest of Egypt is referred to here as mainland Egypt. 67 00:04:20,100 --> 00:04:23,133 That's the main cities like Cairo and Alexandria. 68 00:04:23,133 --> 00:04:26,233 That's where the attacks against Christians took place last year. 69 00:04:26,233 --> 00:04:30,666 And they certainly did ramp up the pressure on President Sisi, not just from the Christian 70 00:04:30,666 --> 00:04:35,666 community, but I think from Egyptians across the board, who were worried at the sight of 71 00:04:37,700 --> 00:04:40,833 these Islamic State attacks coming into their capital and into other major cities. 72 00:04:42,733 --> 00:04:46,166 JUDY WOODRUFF: Declan Walsh with The New York Times joining us from Cairo, thank you. 73 00:04:46,900 --> 00:04:47,466 DECLAN WALSH: Thank you.