Coptic Christians in Egypt come under attack, 7 killed
Gunmen have opened fire at a bus transporting Coptic Christians in Egypt, leaving at least seven people dead.
Minya’s archbishop said that 14 people were also injured in the attack that targeted a bus heading towards St. Samuel the Confessor monastery in the province, 260 kilometers south of Cairo, on Friday.
The Daesh Takfiri terrorist group claimed responsibility for the assault, which occurred almost at the exact location of a similar 2017 attack by the terrorists that claimed the lives of 28 Christians.
Coptic Christians make up about 10 percent of Egypt's predominantly Sunni Muslim population of some 100 million.
Back in August, another bomb attack against a church on the outskirts of Cairo was foiled when a bomber blew himself up before reaching the target.
Over the past few years, terrorists have been carrying out anti-government activities and fatal attacks, taking advantage of the turmoil in Egypt that erupted after the country’s first democratically-elected president, Mohamed Morsi, was ousted in a military coup in July 2013.
The Velayat Sinai group, which is affiliated with Daesh, has claimed responsibility for most of the assaults. The group later expanded its attacks to target members of Egypt’s Coptic Christian community as well as foreigners visiting the country, prompting Cairo to widen a controversial crackdown, which critics say has mostly targeted dissidents.
Commenting on the Friday shooting, President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi mourned the victims of the attack and vowed to push ahead with the campaign against militants.
"I wish a speedy recovery to the injured and assert our determination to fight dark terrorism and to pursue the perpetrators," Sisi tweeted shortly after the attack.
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