Egyptians welcome Turkish mourning over Sinai victims

By Aydogan Kalabalik

CAIRO (AA) – Egyptian political figures have welcomed Turkey’s decision to declare a day of national mourning over last week’s deadly mosque attack in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, which killed 305 people and injured scores.

Flags flew at half-mast over buildings across Turkey on Monday to mourn victims of the attack, when attackers opened fire on worshippers inside a mosque in the North Sinai city of Bir al-Abed during the weekly Friday prayer.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Ibrahim Yusri, a former assistant to Foreign Minister, described the Turkish move as a “noble attitude”.

"Those who claim that Turkey would remain silent against such attacks were wrong,” he said.

“This noble attitude by Turkey indicates that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is a great asset for the Arab and Islamic worlds," he said.

Atef al-Saadawi, an analyst at Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies, said the Turkish move could serve in improving political relations between Ankara and Cairo.

"The declaration of national mourning by the Turkish government reflects Turkey’s support for Egypt in the fight against terrorism and serves in improving bilateral ties,” he said.

“Tension between the two countries is not permanent; it is a temporary issue,” he said.

The Turkish government has strongly condemned the Sinai mosque attack, with Erdogan describing the attackers as “murderers”.