Blast near Cairo’s Coptic cathedral kills at least five: Egyptian security sources

Amal Louka, who works with a service for disabled people at the cathedral, said she was in a meeting in an adjacent church when she heard the explosion.

The incident, which started with a few dozen men pelting the mourners with stones, quickly escalated into a massive attack against Christians at St. Mark’s Coptic Orthodox Cathedral involving firearms, flash-bang grenades, tear gas, fire bombs and other improvised weapons, besides cars set ablaze.

A bomb exploded during Sunday mass at a Cairo church Sunday, killing at least 25 people and wounding many more, including many women and children.

The hall’s floor was covered in pools of congealed blood and debris from shattered windows, with ball bearings, apparently used as shrapnel inside the bomb, burrowing through furniture and peppering the walls. Here and there lay abandoned shoes and patches of blood. “This grief we will share together”.

Sisi is fighting battles on several fronts.

In analysis, the BBC said most of the Islamist militant attacks of recent years have been focused in the Sinai province, where an IS-linked jihadist group is active, but Cairo has also suffered a string of attacks in the past two years.

But in a country where sectarian tensions are never far from boiling over, and human rights in general are gravely abused, life for Christians has never been comfortable or free of danger.

The UN Security Council urged “all States, in accordance with their obligations under worldwide law and relevant Security Council resolutions, to cooperate actively with all relevant authorities” to hold those responsible accountable.

“This would be the kind of attack the Islamic State would like to inspire”.

“God bless the person who did this blessed act”, wrote one supporter of the militant group on Telegram.

Scuffles broke out when protesters tried to push police lines to move closer to the cathedral, but there were no immediate reports of arrests.

Copts have faced persecution and discrimination dating back to the 30-year rule of Hosni Mubarak, who was toppled by a popular uprising in 2011.

At Demerdash hospital, relatives sat outside the operating theatres dressed in black, tears streaming down their cheeks. The ministry also released a photo of what it said was al-Kanani’s head.

Sisi has vowed to bring the criminals to justice, but CNN reported that hundreds of protestors gathered outside the Coptic cathedral after the bombing.

He called the bombing an attack “against the nation”.

The worst previous attack against Christians was a 2011 bombing in Alexandria that killed 21. The circumstances remain a mystery and no one was punished.

Middle Eastern Christians have felt increasingly insecure since Islamic State spread through Iraq and Syria in 2014, systematically targeting religious minorities.

But for now, Egypt and its Christians are in mourning. Conflicting accounts claimed the Alexandria bombing was either the result of a suicide bomber or a auto bomb placed at the entrance of the church building. “I wish I had died with them instead of seeing these scenes”.

TAK goes after government agents in locations where it knows they will find them, such as stadiums or public gatherings where they assemble to do their jobs.