Bir al-Abd

Bir al-Abd is a city in North Sinai in north-eastern Egypt, the capital of the Bir al-Abd markaz, standing on the international coastal road on the shores of Lake Bardawil. The Battle of Bir el Abd was fought here on 9 August 1916 as part of the Sinai and Palestine Campaign of the First World War: after the British success at Romani, the ANZAC Mounted Division, with the 5th Mounted Brigade under command, was tasked with following the retiring Turkish army force, and the assault on 9 August became a day of attack and counter-attack that ended when Chauvel ordered his troops to withdraw in the evening, leaving the Turkish force in command of the battleground. On 24 November 2017 around forty gunmen attacked the al-Rawda mosque near the town during Friday prayers, killing at least 305 people, the deadliest attack in Egyptian history. The official estimate for July 2023 is 27,012 residents.