Related News
Egyptian bombing a ‘suicide attack’
Print Edition
EGYPTIAN President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi said yesterday that a suicide bomber caused the blast that killed 24 Christians during Sunday Mass at a Cairo chapel adjacent to St Mark’s Cathedral, the seat of Egypt’s ancient Coptic Orthodox Church.
It was among the deadliest attacks to ever target Egypt’s Coptic minority, which makes up around 10 percent of the country’s population and strongly supported the military overthrow of an elected Islamist president in 2013, which was led by al-Sissi.
Since then, Islamic militants have carried out scores of attacks mainly targeting the security forces, while the government has waged a wide-scale crackdown on dissent.
Speaking after a state funeral for the victims, al-Sissi identified the bomber as 22-year-old Mahmoud Shafiq Mohammed Mustafa, and said three men and a woman were arrested in connection with the attack, which wounded 49 people. Two other suspects were on the run, he added.
The president spoke after Health Ministry officials revised down the number of victims to 24, suggesting that the 25th body belonged to the bomber. The victims are thought to include 22 women.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
“This strike really hurt us and caused us much pain, but it will not break us,” al-Sissi said. “God willing, we will win this war.” He also called on the government and parliament to introduce legislation that would allow more “decisive” methods of dealing with militants.
The coffins were wrapped in Egyptian flags. Pope Tawadros II, spiritual leader of Egypt’s Orthodox Christians, and top government and military officials attended the funeral, amid tight security. Earlier yesterday, the Coptic community held its own funeral service.
Outside the church, a crowd scuffled with security forces when they were barred from attending the service. An unspecified number of arrests were made, several witnesses said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they feared for their safety.
Egypt has seen a wave of attacks by Islamic militants since 2013, when the military overthrew President Mohammed Morsi amid mass protests against his divisive rule.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
