At least 26 people were killed and 25 wounded Friday in an attack by gunmen on a bus carrying Coptic Christians south of Cairo. Local media reported witnesses saying that between eight and 10 gunmen, dressed in military uniform, carried out the attack.
Activists monitoring the plight of Coptic Christians in Egypt said that the attack targeted a private car, a bus and a truck as they drove along an unpaved desert road en route to the monastery of St. Samuel, in the Minya region, around 220 kilometers south of the Egyptian capital. The convoy was traveling to the monastery, carrying both worshippers and workers heading for the holy site.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, which came on the eve of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Egyptian President Abdel-Fatah al-Sisi previously declared a state of emergency earlier this year, following two suicide bombings on Coptic churches that left at least 45 dead on 9 April. The attacks struck worshippers in the town of Tanta and the Egyptian port city of Alexandria as they celebrated Palm Sunday.
Late last month, Pope Francis visited Egypt in part to show his support for Christians who have been increasingly targeted by Islamic militants. Following the pope’s visit, the ISIS terror group vowed to escalate attacks against Christians, urging Muslims to steer clear of Christian gatherings and western embassies.
Minya has one of the highest concentrations of Coptic Christians in Egypt. Around a tenth of the Egyptian population of 93 million is Christian.
Coptic Christians in and around Minya have complained of increasing sectarian violence in the town, including the burning of churches and other buildings used for worship, as well as stabbings and an incident where an elderly woman was stripped naked and paraded through the town.
Ronald S. Lauder: These are attacks against everybody, not just Christians
After the previous deadly terror attacks on two Coptic churches in April, World Jewish Congress President Ronald S. Lauder condemned them and said: “These attacks are a threat not just against the Christians, but against all people in the world. They were attacks on freedom of religion. We must stand together against these threats and defeat all forms of radical and fanatic terrorism.
"I hope that this time the world won't remain silent as they have in the past about Christians being killed in the Middle East. The Jewish people know what happens when the world is silent."