Turkey observes a day of mourning for Egypt mosque attack

Turkey is observing on Monday a day of national mourning in the wake of Friday's terrorist attack in Egypt that killed hundreds of worshippers and injured hundreds more at a mosque in the Sinai peninsula.

Flags will fly at half-mast at Turkish diplomatic and government missions at home and abroad, authorities announced on Sunday.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Prime Minister Binali Yildirim condemned the attack and offered their condolences to the Egyptian people.

Over 300 people were killed and scores injured on Friday when attackers bombed a mosque in the town of Bir Al Abed, in the northern Sinai, and then opened fire on fleeing worshipers.

There has been no claim of responsibility yet but a statement from the public prosecutor's office said the gunmen were carrying Daesh flags and that there were between 25-30 of them.

A few hours after the attack, the Egyptian army said an aerial raid was launched in which vehicles used in the attack were destroyed along with "terrorist" locations where weapons and ammunition were stocked.

Attacks on mosques are a rarity

Egyptians were stunned because the attack was directed at a mosque - a rarity in the country's history of insurgencies.

The possibility that extremists are shifting tactics and picking new targets is worrying for Egypt, where governments have struggled to contain groups far less brazen than Daesh.

Egyptian leaders have adopted a zero-tolerance policy, with air strikes, raids on militant hideouts and long prison sentences.

President Abdel Fattah el Sisi has once again threatened to crush the militants.

"The armed forces and the police will avenge our martyrs and restore security and stability with the utmost force in the coming period," he said after Friday's carnage.

Ties to Sufism

For Daesh, the village of Bir Al Abed would have been a target because of its ties to Sufism, a form of Islam that hardline groups, including Daesh, have targeted.

Egypt has about 15 million Sufis, and their shrines and saints appear in villages across the country.