Egyptians bury their ‘angels’
Grief day after church massacres
Egyptian Christians began the grim task of burying loved ones Monday after coordinated Palm Sunday suicide bombings killed at least 45 people at two Coptic churches.
Women wailed as caskets with “martyr” written on them were carried into Alexandria’s St. Mark’s Cathedral, where 17 people died when a bomb exploded at a security checkpoint outside.
Another suicide attack killed at least 28 people inside St. George’s Church in the Nile Delta city of Tanta, the Health Ministry said.
ISIS has claimed responsibility for both attacks, identifying the suicide bombers as Abu Al-Baraa Al-Masri and Abu Ishaaq Al-Masri.
The Rev. Danial Maher of the Tanta church lost his 23-year-old son, Beshoy, who was among six deacons killed.
“He was like an angel,” said Maher, who recalled watching his son wearing white vestments and singing at the service.
Mourners also paid tribute to police officer Nagwa Abdel-Aleem, 55, who died while guarding the entrance to St. Mark’s Cathedral. The female cop refused to let the suicide bomber pass through her security check, so he detonated his device at the main gate instead, the Telegraph reported.
“Muslim police officer in a hijab lost her life defending Alexandria’s Coptic Cathedral,” one Twitter user wrote. “Don’t judge people by what they wear. Actions count.”
Egyptian authorities said seven ISIS militants who were plotting more attacks against Christians had been killed Monday during an operation in the southern city of Assiut.
The terror group has been using increasingly sophisticated tactics in Egypt — and ramping up its attacks against Christians in areas outside the Sinai Peninsula.
But Vatican officials said Pope Francis’ trip to Egypt at the end of the month is still on, although that could change if the security situation gets worse.
“We will have to keep our finger on the pulse of the situation until the very last minute,” a senior diplomatic source told Reuters.