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The Latest: Crossing between Gaza and Egypt remains closed

CAIRO (AP) - The Latest on developments in Egypt (all times local):

1:45 p.m.

The main gateway for Palestinians out of the Gaza Strip was closed following the attack on a mosque in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula.

The Rafah crossing was expected to open temporarily on Saturday. But following the attack, travelers were told they would not be able to cross after all.

On Saturday, guards were the only people to be seen at the crossing. Ruling party Hamas says 30,000 people have been waiting for a chance to travel. Thus far, Rafah has opened for people exiting Gaza only 17 days this year.

Egypt has kept Rafah largely sealed off since 2013, after the ouster of Egypt's elected Islamist President Mohammed Morsi while authorities have been fighting an Islamist insurgency.

Hamas, which has wielded power in Gaza since it ousted forces loyal to the Western-backed Fatah faction in 2007, condemned the Sinai attack.

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12:55 p.m.

Egypt's chief prosecutor says in a statement that the attack on a Sinai mosque has killed 305 people, including 27 children.

In a statement Saturday, Nabil Sadeq says the attack a day earlier also left 128 people wounded.

Sadeq says it was carried out by 25-30 militants who arrived at the mosque in the small town of Bir al-Abd in five all-terrain vehicles. He says the militants stationed themselves at the mosque's main door and 12 windows before opening fire on worshippers inside. They also torched seven cars belonging to the worshippers that were parked outside.

There was no claim of responsibility for the attack, the deadliest by Islamic extremists in Egypt's modern history. The mosque is frequented by Sufi Muslims, a mystic school of Islam that militants consider heretic.

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10:55 a.m.

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi has ordered the construction of a mausoleum in memory of the 235 people killed by Islamic militants inside a mosque in northern Sinai.

A presidential statement did not say where the mausoleum would stand or who would be commissioned to build it, but the decision to have one reflects the depth of grief felt by the government over the death of so many people in Friday's attack, the deadliest by Islamic extremists in Egypt's modern history. The mosque was frequented by Sufis, followers of a mystic school of Islam.

No one claimed responsibility for the attack, but the extremist Islamic State group has repeatedly declared that it views Sufis as heretics and vowed to rid Sinai, and Egypt, of them. Millions of Egyptians practice Sufi rituals, like reciting poetry, dancing and singing as means to be closer to God.

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9:05 a.m.

Egypt's military says warplanes have struck several vehicles used in the attack on a northern Sinai mosque that killed 235 people, destroying and killing all passengers.

The military's Saturday statement said the vehicles were hit in the vicinity of the previous day's attack on a mosque in the Sinai town of Bir al-Abd, the deadliest by Islamic extremists in Egypt's modern history.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but the extremist Islamic State group has in the past vowed to rid Sinai, and Egypt, of Sufis. A local IS affiliate is spearheading the insurgency in Sinai, where government forces have battled militants for years.

The mosque was frequented by Sufis, members of a mystic movement within Islam that's viewed by extremists as heretic.

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7:15 a.m.

Militants assaulted a crowded mosque in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula during prayers in the deadliest-ever attack by Islamic extremists in Egypt.

They blasted helpless worshippers Friday with gunfire and rocket-propelled grenades and blocked their escape routes. At least 235 people were killed before the assailants got away.

The attack in the troubled northern part of the Sinai targeted a mosque frequented by Sufis, members of a mystic movement within Islam.

Islamic militants, including the local affiliate of the Islamic State group, consider Sufis heretics because of their less literal interpretations of the faith.

The startling bloodshed in the town of Bir al-Abd also wounded at least 109, according to the state news agency. It offered the latest sign that the Egyptian government has failed to deter an IS-led insurgency.

Abdallah Abdel Nasser, 14, receives medical treatment at Suez Canal University hospital in Ismailia, Egypt, Friday, Nov. 24, 2017, after he was in injured during an attack on a mosque. Militants attacked a crowded mosque during Friday prayers in the Sinai Peninsula, setting off explosives, spraying worshippers with gunfire and killing more than 200 people in the deadliest ever attack by Islamic extremists in Egypt. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil) The Associated Press
This photo released by Egypt's Presidency shows Abdel-Fattah El-Sissi, center, meeting with officials in Cairo after militants attacked a crowded mosque during Friday prayers in the Sinai Peninsula. The attackers set off explosives, spraying worshippers with gunfire and killing at least 184 people in the deadliest ever attack on Egyptian civilians by Islamic extremists. (Egyptian Presidency via AP) The Associated Press
Head of the Egyptian Press Syndicate Diaa Rashwan, briefs the press on the militant attack that sprayed worshippers with gunfire and explosions and killing at least 235 people in the Sinai Peninsula, during a press conference, in Cairo, Egypt, Friday, Nov. 24, 2017. The attack targeted a mosque frequented by Sufis, members of a mystic movement within Islam, in the north Sinai town of Bir al-Abd. Islamic militants, including the local affiliate of the Islamic State group, consider Sufis heretics because of their less literal interpretations of the faith. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty) The Associated Press
Mohamed Emam the Press Center General Director, left, speaks as Head of the Egyptian Press Syndicate Diaa Rashwan, right, prepares to brief the press on the militant attack that sprayed worshippers with gunfire and explosions and killing more than 200 people in the Sinai Peninsula, during a press conference, in Cairo, Egypt, Friday, Nov. 24, 2017. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty) The Associated Press
Sheikh Sulieman Ghanem, 75, receives medical treatment at Suez Canal University hospital in Ismailia, Egypt, Friday, Nov. 24, 2017, after he was injured during an attack on a mosque. Militants attacked a crowded mosque during Friday prayers in the Sinai Peninsula, setting off explosives, spraying worshippers with gunfire and killing more than 200 people in the deadliest ever attack by Islamic extremists in Egypt. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil) The Associated Press
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