Video of Egypt church bombing emerges, said to show attacker

Three other suspects have been arrested and are being interrogated, al-Sissi says in a surprise announcement during a military funeral ceremony for the 23 victims.

The attack was the deadliest on Christians since a suicide bomber killed 23 congregants at a church in Alexandria on January 1, 2011.

Islamic militants have targeted Christians in the past, including a New Year’s Day bombing at a church in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria in 2011 that killed at least 21 people.

“It remains unclear what caused the blast near Saint Mark’s Coptic Orthodox Cathedral”.

A state funeral was organized and held in Cairo’s Nasr City for the 24 people killed in the deadly Cairo Cathedral terror attack on Sunday.

Sunday’s church attack came two days after six policemen were killed in a bomb blast that shook Egypt’s capital on Friday. He added that 13 people had been arrested in connection with the “terrorist attack”.

No one has claimed of responsibility for the attack.

Egypt has witnessed a rise in attacks by Islamist groups including those affiliated to Isis since the overthrow of former Islamist president Mohammed Morsi in 2013.

The explosion, which took part on the women’s side of the church, has injured 49 and killed at least 25 with those numbers expected to grow.

The bomb went off in the women’s seating section, killing predominantly women and children.

When Qassem returned to his home in Cairo, the Brotherhood members residing in Qatar instructed him to start preparing and planning for attacks targeting Copts.

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi condemned the attack and called for those responsible to be punished.

Egypt’s Christians have long complained of discrimination in Egypt, contending they are denied top jobs in a wide range of fields, including academia and security apparatuses.

Israel strongly condemned the deadly attacks in Egypt and Turkey over the weekend, calling for a united front against terrorism.

On Monday, Sissi called for stricter anti-terrorism laws but dismissed public accusations that Egypt’s security forces had not adequately protected the church.

“The blood of our brothers is dear”, chanted the protesters, who carried Egyptian flags and crosses made of tree branches.

“During these hard times while wishing a speedy recovery to all the wounded, we extend our heart condolences to the relatives of the victims, the Coptic Church and the Egyptian people”.

Meanwhile Bishop Angaelos, General Bishop of the Coptic Orthodox Church in the United Kingdom, responded to the attack, saying: “Yesterday we saw lovely lives lost, families separated and broken, and whole communities grieving; a truly painful time that has not only affected Coptic Christians, but Egyptian society at large, Muslims and Christians alike, and millions around the world”.