Gunmen attack Egypt’s Coptic Christians, kill 26
‘UNACCEPTABLE’ Egypt’s top religious authority AlAzhar condemns shooting
Masked gunmen attacked a bus carrying Coptic Christians on a visit to a monastery south of Cairo on Friday, killing at least 26 people, officials said.
The gunmen in three pick-up trucks attacked the bus as it carried visitors to the Saint Samuel monastery in Minya province, more than 200 km from Cairo, the interior ministry said.
No group took responsibility for the attack.
Pictures of the bus aired by state television showed its windows shot out.
“They used automatic weapons,” Minya governor Essam el-Bedawi told state television. He said police were fanning out along the road where the attack took place and had set up checkpoints.
Health ministry spokesman Khaled Megahed that 26 people were killed and another 25 wounded.
Al-Azhar, Egypt’s top religious authority, condemned Friday’s shooting which took place on the eve of the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
“The Minya incident is unacceptable to Muslims and Christians and it targets Egypt’s stability,” Al-Azhar’s Grand Imam Ahmed al-Tayeb said in a statement.
The shooting came after a historic visit to Egypt by Roman Catholic Pope Francis to show solidarity with the country’s Christians.
Copts have suffered sectarian attacks for years.
A suicide bomber struck a church in 2011, and there have been deadly clashes with Muslims, especially in the rural south, following disputes over church construction.
Egypt says it has identified those behind the church bombings in April, saying they were part of an extremist cell based in southern provinces, offering a reward for their capture.
Sisi has defended the performance of his security forces and accused jihadists of trying to divide Egyptian society by attacking vulnerable minorities.