'TOUGHER AND SMARTER': Trump seizes on deadly Egypt attack to push for border wall, travel ban
President Donald Trump on Friday called the deadly mosque attack in Egypt a "tragic terrorist attack" and touted his proposed US-Mexico border wall and travel ban.
At least 235 people were killed after Islamist militants thought to be affiliated with ISIS set off multiple bombs in a mosque in Bir al-Abed, Egypt.
President Donald Trump on Friday condemned the deadly attack on a mosque in Egypt that killed at least 235 people, using the incident to renew calls for a wall along the US-Mexico border and a ban on travelers from certain majority-Muslim countries.
"Will be calling the President of Egypt in a short while to discuss the tragic terrorist attack, with so much loss of life," Trump said on Twitter. "We have to get TOUGHER AND SMARTER than ever before, and we will. Need the WALL, need the BAN! God bless the people of Egypt."
The attack occurred early on Friday in the North Sinai town of Bir al-Abed, when Islamist militants set off at least two bombs in a Sufi mosque, according to reports from the Associated Press and New York Times.
The militants also set up ambush locations and opened fire on the fleeing worshippers and arriving ambulances.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack so far, but the militants are believed to be affiliated with ISIS.
Earlier that day, Trump had decried the incident as a "horrible and cowardly terrorist attack on innocent and defenseless worshipers in Egypt."
He said: "The world cannot tolerate terrorism, we must defeat them militarily and discredit the extremist ideology that forms the basis of their existence!"
Trump has long called for dramatic restrictions on travel and immigration to the United States, purportedly for national security reasons, including through the construction of a US-Mexico border wall and a ban on travel from certain majority-Muslim countries.
It was unclear from Trump's tweet on Friday, however, what connection either measure would have with the attack in Egypt. Trump's latest travel ban, which is currently being litigated before two federal appeals courts, targeted eight countries, none of which were Egypt.
Daniel Brown contributed reporting.