Feature: Grief overwhelms villages of slain Egyptian soldiers

Throngs of villagers gathered in Upper Egypt's Qena province, chanting "The martyr is loved by Allah!" as the grief-stricken family and relatives of Mahmoud Salama, one of the 22 soldiers recently killed in a rocket- propelled grenade attack, mourned his death.

Tuesday marks the final day of mourning for the military men. Officials in Cairo had earlier announced three days of national mourning, after they revealed that the soldiers were killed on Saturday by gunmen at a checkpoint in the al-Wadi al-Gadid (the New Valley) province, about 500 km south of the capital Cairo, in Egypt's western desert.

The attack is reportedly one of the largest assaults targeting security forces in years.

In southwestern Qena, the eyes of Salama's father were glossy with tears as he received condolences from neighbors and fellow villagers outside his humble house in the Zawaida village.

"My son is a martyr. Allah has chosen my son, a piece of my heart, to elevate him to the status of martyrdom," the 57-year-old father told Xinhua.

"Do not think of those who are killed in the way of Allah as dead," he said, reciting a verse from the Quran, Islam's holy book.

Salama's mother was unable to restrain her tears and convulsed as she sobbed. Groups of female relatives, neighbors and friends tried but could not console the woman who has just lost her son.

Though the traditional holiday of Eid al-Fitr is just days away, the village is engulfed in a deep anguish. The loss has shaken this close-knit community.

The late soldier's uncle, Abdel-Mohsen Mortada, said that his nephew was loved by all his neighbors for his kindness and good manners.

"He joined the army just seven months ago and his wedding was scheduled to take place after he finished his military service," the 50-year-old farmer told Xinhua. Mortada called on the armed forces to provide soldiers with better equipment, arms, and training to be able to deal with militants.

Some family members also criticized the military for failing to secure the area after a similar attack by gunmen at the same checkpoint a couple of months ago left six military men dead.

Qena's casualties in the attack don't end with just Salama though.

The body of another slain soldier, 20-year-old Andrew Albeer Nadar, lies in a large rectangular box wrapped with the Egyptian flag and a small tag identifying him as "martyred soldier."

The Coptic Christian's hometown of Al-Makhbaz al-Aly received Nader's body and held a mass funeral procession that marched to a nearby church and then finally to the graveyard. Coptic and Muslim residents of the town alike chanted, "Long live Egypt! Down with terrorism!"

It was a notable scene reflecting a nationalistic unity against "terrorism" that has swept up many Egyptians since militant attacks have increased throughout the country since the ousting of Egypt's first democratically-elected Islamist President Mohammed Morsi.

"I was patiently waiting for Andrew to finish the military service to marry him off and see my grandchildren before I die," Nadar's mother Jaclyn Zaher told Xinhua tearfully.

"I always remember how his smile filled the house with happiness," she said while hugging her 14-year-old son.

Nader's father said he pinned "great hopes" on his eldest son and that the late young man represented for him "the real fortune he had in this world."

Nader was charitable and helpful according to his best friend Abanoub Amgad who received recently a phone call from the deceased one day before his death.

"Nader was nice to everyone and he never hurt anybody in his life. On the contrary, he was charitable and he also helped his father at his clothing store," the young man told Xinhua.

"He wanted to check on me because I was sick," Amgad continued, "but his voice really sounded different as if he knew we're going to be apart soon."

The government held a mass military funeral for the slain military personnel in Cairo on Sunday, attended by President Abdel- Fattah al-Sisi, before sending their bodies back home. Egyptian state TV and other channels marked their screens with a mourning black sign. Endi