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Egypt declares state of emergency after church bombings

───   09:40 Mon, 10 Apr 2017

Egypt declares state of emergency after church bombings | News Article

Egypt's President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has declared a three-month state of emergency after two bomb blasts killed dozens of worshippers in Coptic Christian churches.


The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) armed group claimed responsibility for Sunday's church bombings in the Nile Delta cities of Alexandria and Tanta, in which at least 48 people were killed.

Sisi announced the "state of emergency for three months" in a speech at the presidential palace after a meeting of the national defence council.

Two churches packed with Coptic worshippers have been bombed in Egypt, killing many and wounding dozens more.

The first blast struck St George church in Tanta, a city north of the capital, Cairo. Then a suicide bomber struck outside the main Coptic church in Alexandria, Saint Mark's Cathedral, where Pope Tawadros II had led the service.

Worshippers had been celebrating Palm Sunday, one of the holiest days in the Christian calendar.

The bombings come just a few weeks before Pope Francis is due to visit Egypt.

They were the latest in a series of assaults on Egypt's Christian minority, who make up about 10 percent of the population and have been repeatedly targeted by armed groups.


News24


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