By: Undria Wilson
Two Egyptian Coptic Christian churches were attacked by suicide bombers on Palm Sunday, the New York Times reported.
The bombings resulted in at least 40 worshippers dead, and is being labeled as one of the deadliest attacks against Christians in the country in over a decade.
The first explosion occurred around 9:30 a.m. in St. George’s Church in the Nile Delta City of Tanta during a Palm Sunday mass. The suicide bomber ran past security and detonated the explosives in front of the pews, according to security officials.
At least 21 people were killed and 71 others were injured, officials said.
A second explosive occurred at the gates of St. Mark’s Cathedral just a few hours later. Thirteen people were killed and 21 others were wounded, the Health Ministry said.
The patriarch of the Egyptian Coptic Church, Pope Tawadros II, who is to meet with Pope Francis on his visit to Egypt on April 28 and 29, was in the church at the time, but was not injured, the Interior Ministry said.
The bombings, at the start of the Holy Week leading to Easter, renewed questions about the ability of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to protect minority Christians, who make up about 10 percent of Egypt’s 90 million citizens. Later on Sunday, al-Sisi declared a three-month state of emergency.
Egyptian security officials found and defused several other explosive devices at other locations, including at a prominent Sufi Muslim shrine. One bomb had been planted at the Collège Saint Marc, an all-boys school in downtown Alexandria.
ISIS claimed responsibility for the deadly blasts on Sunday through the Amaq news agency, which acts as its news wire. It said that a “security detachment” had targeted the churches in Tanta and Alexandria.
Although the head of the Catholic Church in Egypt, Bishop Emmanuel, told reporters on Friday that Pope Benedict XVI’s visit was a signal that Egypt is safe for visitors, the attacks on Sunday were certain to bring new scrutiny on security arrangements for the trip in April.
