Ancient Copt community a regular target of militants

Egypt’s Copts belong to one of the world’s oldest Christian communities, but ISIS has vowed to go after Christians, claiming major attacks against them in recent years.

November 2 Masked gunmen open fire on three buses carrying pilgrims to the monastery of St Samuel the Confessor, killing seven and wounding about 20.

May 26, 2017 Masked militants open fire on a bus carrying pilgrims on their way to the Monastery of St Samuel the Confessor, killing 29 and wounding 22.

April 2017 Twin attacks by suicide bombers hit churches in the coastal city of Alexandria and the Nile Delta city of Tanta. At least 43 people are killed.

February 2017 Hundreds of Christians flee their homes in the northern part of the Sinai Peninsula, fearing attacks by ISIS.

December 2016 A bombing at a chapel adjacent to Egypt’s main Coptic cathedral in Cairo kills 30 people and wounds dozens.

July 2016 A mob stabs to death a 27-year-old Coptic Christian man in the central city of Minya.

May 2016 A mob ransacks and torches seven Christian homes in Minya after rumours spread that a Christian man had an affair with a Muslim.

New Year’s Eve 2011 A bomb explodes in a Coptic Christian church in Alexandria, killing more than 20 people, as worshippers leave after a midnight mass.