Militants claim responsibility for attack on Christians
MINYA, Egypt — The Islamic State group on Saturday claimed responsibility for the attack on a bus carrying Christians on their way to a remote desert monastery south of the Egyptian capital, Cairo, which killed 29.
Egypt responded to Friday’s attack by launching a series of air strikes that targeted what it said were militant bases in eastern Libya in which the assailants were trained. On Saturday, the military said on its Facebook page that the air strikes were continuing “day and night” and that they have “completely” destroyed their targets. It gave no details.
“What you’ve seen today will not go unpunished. An extremely painful strike has been dealt to the bases. Egypt will never hesitate to strike terror bases anywhere,” President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi said in a televised address to the nation late Friday. He said the attacks on Christians were designed to drive a wedge between them and the country’s Muslim majority.
The claim of responsibility takes to four the number of deadly attacks targeting Christians since December that the extremist group says it’s behind. It put the death toll at 32, but there was no immediate explanation for the discrepancy.
In all, the four attacks — Friday’s, two in April and one in December — killed at least 104 people, mostly Christians. El-Sissi declared a three-month state of emergency following April’s twin attacks, which fell on Palm Sunday.
The Egyptian Cabinet, meanwhile, said 13 victims of Friday’s carnage remained hospitalized in Cairo and Minya province, where the attack took place. Egypt’s government has been struggling to contain an insurgency by Islamic militants led by an Islamic State affiliate that is centered in the northern region of the Sinai peninsula.