The Egyptian village where hundreds of worshippers were killed by Islamic militants on Friday has been threatened by radical Islamists against hosting religious gatherings for followers of Sufism, a mystical strand of Islam, some days before the attack, according to the Associated Press. The Egyptian military responded to the attack over the weekend by bombing vehicles thought to have been used in the assault.

As Friday sermons began at the Sufi mosque in the village of Bir al-Abed, in the north of the Sinai peninsula, militants detonated a bomb, killing some worshippers and causing others to rush for the doors. Gunmen surrounding the building—inumbering between 25 and 30 and carrying the balck flag of the Islamic State militant group (ISIS)—opened fire into the fleeing crowd. The latest tally offered by the Egyptian government over the weekend stood at 305 dead, including 27 children. Friday's attack into the deadliest one in Egyp's modern history.

But security officials and residents told the news agency on Monday that residents of the village have been warned before the attack that their mosque may be a target for radical Islamist militants. The warning focused on Sufi religious ceremonies planned for the end of November to celebrate the birth of the Prophet Muhammad.

For Salafis, Muslims who follow an ultra conservative brand of Islam and whose followers include many ISIS jihadis, Sufi Muslims are seen as heretics.

Egyptian army conscripts stand guard outside the Suez Canal University hospital in the eastern port city of Ismailia on November 25, 2017, where the victims of a bomb and gun assault on the North Sinai Rawda mosque that took place the day before are receiving treatment.MOHAMED EL-SHAHED/AFP/GETTY

A local resident, 30-year-old Mohammed Darwish, told the the Associated Press that jihadis issued threats after villagers detained three suspected militants and passed them over to Egyptian security forces.

Radical Islamists had also previously handed out leaflets urging people in the area to convert from Sufism, and had stormed the residence of a local religious leader.

“They threatened him not to hold Sufi gatherings, and last week, they came on motorbikes and asked residents not to participate in Sufi rituals,” Darwish said. But the worshippers appeared defiant, going ahead with their Friday sermon despite violent threats.

Now others in the region are calling for cooperation with the Egyptian military.

In a bid for unity to defeat ISIS’s affiliate in the peninsula, Bedouin leaders have requested that people help the Egyptian military combat the insurgency.

“We call on men and youths of Sinai tribes to join their brothers...to coordinate for a major operation with the army,” the Union of Sinai Tribes wrote in a Facebook statement.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has long pledged to crush a radical Islamist insurgency in the north of the Sinai Peninsula, particularly since the downing of a Russian Metrojet flight in October 2015, which killed all 224 passengers and crew on board. The jihadi insurgency in Egypt’s Northern Sinai became emboldened after 2013, when Sisi, then chief of staff of the Egyptian military, ousted the country’s first-ever democratically-elected leader, the Muslim Brotherhood's Mohamed Morsi.

(newsweek)

December 2010 saw Britain blanketed white as a month-long freeze saw roads, railways and airports shut down.

Nationwide sub-zero chills hit a low of -21.3C (-6F) at Altnaharra, Highland, Scotland.

Met Office forecaster Luke Miall said: “Tuesday’s hill snow is most likely across the north, with Wednesday to Friday seeing showers increasingly focused across the East, and coldest on Thursday when snow is possible to low levels.

“Low-level snow is possible, mixed in with sleet, hail and rain, even down towards Essex. Coastal areas in the North and Wales also risk snow.

“The -6.3C coldest temperature of the season could be beaten on Wednesday and Thursday night, with the coldest temperatures from the South right up to the North, well inland.

“Less cold weather on Saturday is followed by cold, frosty weather in the East from Sunday, and then a cold northerly airstream may become established across all areas until a few days after December 11.

“Temperatures are set to be rather cold or cold everywhere, with showers wintry to low levels, especially in the East and North-East.

“From mid-December, there is an increasing chance of rainfall especially in some western areas, encouraging temperatures to recover closer to average.

“People need to be prepared for winter conditions and take heed of severe weather warnings, with ice warnings expected at short notice.”

Channel 4 forecaster Liam Dutton said: “Cold and wintry weather is likely until mid-December.”

The Weather Company senior meteorologist Mark Stephens-Row said: “The UK’s first colder-than-average December since December 2010 is expected.

“-10C or so is likely, lowest when there is snow on the ground, which is a risk for the South.”

The Weather Outlook forecaster Brian Gaze said: “-12C minimum temperatures are expected in early winter.
“The coldest temperatures will be in the North, but the South doesn’t look like being far behind.”

Ex-BBC and Met Office forecaster John Hammond of weathertrending said: “Significant snowfall is certainly expected across hills of northern Britain in the next week.

“And low-lying areas inland from the sea could well be affected by the heavier wintry showers.”

STV weather presenter Sean Batty said: “Details are firming up of a fairly lengthy spell of cold weather.”

Many who die in cold weather are elderly - but victims would not die anyway in coming months, the Department of Health emphasised.

20 per cent of winter deaths are people aged under 75, with 11 per cent under 65, Office for National Statistics figures show.

The Department of Health said cold conditions worsen winter killers including flu, chest diseases, heart attacks, strokes and dementia.

Department of Health chief medical officer Professor Dame Sally Davies, writing in the Cold Weather Plan for England 2017, said: “There are around 25,000 excess winter deaths each year in England.

“Cold-related deaths represent the biggest weather-related source of mortality.

“Communities can help their neighbours, friends and relatives protect against harm to health in winter.”