US President Donald Trump condemned as "horrible and cowardly" a bomb and gun attack Friday that killed more than 200 people at a mosque in Egypt and called his counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to offer condolences.

"The world cannot tolerate terrorism, we must defeat them militarily and discredit the extremist ideology that forms the basis of their existence!" he wrote on Twitter.

A bomb explosion tore through the Rawda mosque in Egypt's restive North Sinai province, and then armed attackers raked fleeing worshipers with gunfire.

State media put the death toll at 235. The mosque, located roughly 40 kilometers (25 miles) west of the North Sinai capital of El-Arish, was frequented by Sufis, considered heretics by the Islamic State group and other Islamists.

In his tweet, Trump called it a "horrible and cowardly terrorist attack on innocent and defenseless worshipers in Egypt."

A White House readout of his call with Sisi said he "condemned the attack and reiterated that the United States will continue to stand with Egypt in the face of terrorism."

It added: "The international community cannot tolerate barbaric terrorist groups and must strengthen its efforts to defeat terrorism and extremism in all its forms."

The US president was spending the Thanksgiving weekend in Florida.

source: AFP