Militant gunmen who killed more than 300 people in an attack on a mosque in Egypt’s North Sinai on Friday were carrying a Daesh flag and were between 25 to 30 in number, the public prosecutor’s office said in a statement on Saturday.
The gunmen, some wearing masks and military-style uniforms, surrounded the mosque blocking windows and a doorway and opened fire inside with automatic rifles, the statement citing their investigation and interviews with wounded survivors.
“They numbered between 25 and 30, carrying the Daesh flag and took up positions in front of the mosque door and its 12 windows with automatic rifles,” the statement said using an Arabic term for Islamic State.
The statement said the death toll from the attack had risen to 305 including 27 children.
The attackers had arrived in five all-terrain vehicles and later set fire to seven cars belonging to the worshippers.
The statement said witnesses recounted hearing gunshots and explosions before some of the assailants entered the mosque.
