SUICIDE BOMBINGS TEST PRESIDENT, WHO ORDERS STATE OF EMERGENCY
Egypt imposed a three-month state of emergency Monday as President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi sought to take a tougher stand against Islamic extremists after suicide bombings at two Coptic Christian churches killed 45 people.
A day after the Palm Sunday bloodshed, the Interior Ministry said it killed seven Islamic State terrorists during a security operation in the city of Assiut. The ministry alleged they were plotting attacks against Christians.
A state of emergency already in place in the Sinai Peninsula has failed to halt nearly daily attacks against police and security forces. Now the group is stepping up its attacks against Christians by moving its activities from the Sinai to other parts of Egypt.