Religious tensions mount as bomb kills 21 in Egypt
Source: Agencies |
January 2, 2011, Sunday
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A POWERFUL bomb blast killed 21 people and injured 79 others outside a Coptic Christian church in Alexandria, Egypt, as worshippers emerged from a Mass shortly after midnight yesterday.
The attack raised suspicions of a possible al-Qaida role.
Police initially said the blast came from an explosives-packed car parked outside the Saints Church. But the Interior Ministry later said it was more likely from a suicide bomber on foot.
Both tactics are hallmarks of al-Qaida militants. The blast comes as the terror network's branch in Iraq has waged a campaign of violence against the country's Christian community and threatened such attacks in Egypt.
If al-Qaida had a direct role, however, it could be a startling development in Egypt, where the government of President Hosni Mubarak has persistently denied the terror network has a significant presence on the ground. Egypt does have a rising movement of Islamic hard-liners.
They do not advocate violence, however, they have a similar ideology to al-Qaida in other ways. There are also fears they could be further radicalized amid growing sectarian tensions in Egypt.
Nearly 1,000 Christians were attending the New Year's Mass at the Saints Church, said Father Mena Adel, a priest who attended. The service had just ended and worshippers were leaving the building when the bomb went off about a half-hour after midnight, he said.
"The last thing I heard was a powerful explosion and then my ears went deaf," Marco Boutros, a 17-year-old survivor, said from his hospital bed. "All I could see were body parts scattered all over - legs and bits of flesh."
Bishop Armia, a senior aide to Pope Shenouda III, the spiritual leader of Egypt's Orthodox Coptic Church, said: "This attack targets Egypt's security as a whole. God will protect us."
The attack raised suspicions of a possible al-Qaida role.
Police initially said the blast came from an explosives-packed car parked outside the Saints Church. But the Interior Ministry later said it was more likely from a suicide bomber on foot.
Both tactics are hallmarks of al-Qaida militants. The blast comes as the terror network's branch in Iraq has waged a campaign of violence against the country's Christian community and threatened such attacks in Egypt.
If al-Qaida had a direct role, however, it could be a startling development in Egypt, where the government of President Hosni Mubarak has persistently denied the terror network has a significant presence on the ground. Egypt does have a rising movement of Islamic hard-liners.
They do not advocate violence, however, they have a similar ideology to al-Qaida in other ways. There are also fears they could be further radicalized amid growing sectarian tensions in Egypt.
Nearly 1,000 Christians were attending the New Year's Mass at the Saints Church, said Father Mena Adel, a priest who attended. The service had just ended and worshippers were leaving the building when the bomb went off about a half-hour after midnight, he said.
"The last thing I heard was a powerful explosion and then my ears went deaf," Marco Boutros, a 17-year-old survivor, said from his hospital bed. "All I could see were body parts scattered all over - legs and bits of flesh."
Bishop Armia, a senior aide to Pope Shenouda III, the spiritual leader of Egypt's Orthodox Coptic Church, said: "This attack targets Egypt's security as a whole. God will protect us."
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