Islamic State gunmen kill seven Coptic Christians in Egypt bus attack
- The attackers opened fire on the bus of pilgrims returning from a visit to a monastery
Gunmen attacked a bus carrying Coptic Christians in central Egypt on Friday, killing seven in the latest assault on the religious minority claimed by the Islamic State group.
The attackers opened fire on the bus of pilgrims in Minya province after they had visited a monastery, Bishop Makarios of Minya said. A security source confirmed that seven people were killed in the attack and seven wounded.
The attack took place on the road back from the Saint Samuel monastery, Makarios added, as the bus was heading to the city of Sohag. He said the wounded had been taken to a hospital in Beni Mazar, around 200km (124 miles) south of Cairo.
The Islamic State group claimed the attack in a message via its propaganda agency Amaq. “Those who carried out the ambush … in Minya are fighters of the Islamic State,” Amaq said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app.
Egyptian state television said security forces were on Friday afternoon still in pursuit of the attackers, while President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi offered his support to the victims in a statement on Twitter.