The Gulf Time Newspaper One of the finest business newspapers in the UAE brought to you by our professional writers and editors.
Cairo /Â AFP
A bomb blast tore through a church near Cairo’s Coptic cathedral during a service on Sunday, killing at least 25 people in the deadliest attack in recent memory on Egypt’s Christian minority.
There was no immediate claim of responsiblity for the bombing. Coptic Christians make up about 10 percent of Egypt’s population.
At least 31 people were also wounded in the blast, the health ministry said, as the attack drew condemnation from political and religious leaders and led President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to declare three days of national mourning.
The bombing hit around 10:00 am at the Saint Peter and Saint Paul Church, which is adjacent to Saint Mark’s Cathedral, the seat of the Coptic pope Tawadros II.
A bomb made of 12 kilos of TNT appeared to have been behind the explosion, security officials said.
The blast shattered the church’s glass windows and scattered pews through the main prayer hall. Blood stains could be seen on the floors, where shoes and other belongings lay scattered.
“I was leaving the church and then I heard a loud explosion and there was a lot of smoke and people started running and screaming,” Jackline Abdel Shahid, one of the survivors of the blast, said at the scene.
“The ambulances started coming, and they kept bringing out body parts. The floor was covered in blood, and the whole church was stained with blood, broken glass everywhere, everyone screaming, torn clothes,” she said.
An angry group of about 25 people had gathered near the area to protest after the bombing.
It was the worst attack on the Coptic Christian community since a 2011 suicide bombing killed more than 20 worshippers outside a church in the coastal city of Alexandria.
Interior Minister Magdy Abdel Ghaffar rushed to the area after the blast and Prime Minister Sherif Ismail called on security services to quickly find those responsible.
“The nation’s Muslim and Christian citizens stand together against this black terrorism,” Ismail said in the statement.
Sisi also condemned the attack, saying in a statement: “Egypt will only emerge stronger and more unified from these events.”
Sheikh Ahmed Al-Tayeb, the head of Egypt’s top Sunni Muslim authority Al-Azhar, said the “vile terrorist explosion” was “a great crime against all Egyptians”.