At least 25 people have been killed and dozens more injured in a bomb blast at a chapel next to Cairo's main Coptic cathedral.
The explosion took place during Sunday mass at Saint Peter and Saint Paul Church, which lies adjacent to St Mark's Cathedral, the headquarters of the Christian Coptic Orthodox church and the home of its leader, Pope Tawadros II. A three-day period of mourning has been declared.
President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi condemned the attack and called for those responsible to be punished.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
He added: "Vicious terrorism is being waged against the country's Copts and Muslims. Egypt will emerge stronger and more united from this situation."
Coptic Christians, one of the earliest Christian groups outside the Holy Land, make up about ten per cent of Egypt's population.
The bombing is the deadliest suspected attack on the country's Christian minority in recent memory. However, Mohamad Elmasry, an associate professor of media and cultural studies at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, told Al Jazeera the "barbaric attack against Coptic Christians is not an aberration".
He said: "[It] represents the continuation of a cycle of violence that has continued unabated since Egypt's July 2013 military coup."
Copts have often complained of persecution and discrimination from Egypt's Muslim majority "and violence between Muslim and Christian communities has repeatedly broken out in poor and rural areas, often triggered by land disputes", says The Guardian.
So far, there has been no claim of responsibility, "but jihadists in Sinai have targeted Christians before, as well as Muslims they accuse of working with the government", says Sky News.
In 2013, Copt churches and homes of members were attacked in retaliation for the overthrow of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi and the security forces' subsequent deadly dispersal of his supporters from two squares in Cairo, which claimed the lives of hundreds of people.
Human Rights Watch claimed more than 40 Coptic churches were attacked nationwide after the crackdown.
A 2011 suicide bombing also killed 21 worshippers outside a church in the coastal city of Alexandria.
-
Out of office: microretirement is trending in the workplaceThe explainer Long vacations are the new way to beat burnout
-
Will California tax its billionaires?Talking Points Proposed one-time levy would shore up education, Medicaid
-
Blue Origin launches Mars probes in NASA debutSpeed Read The New Glenn rocket is carrying small twin spacecraft toward Mars as part of NASA’s Escapade mission
-
Nigeria confused by Trump invasion threatSpeed Read Trump has claimed the country is persecuting Christians
-
Sanae Takaichi: Japan’s Iron Lady set to be the country’s first woman prime ministerIn the Spotlight Takaichi is a member of Japan’s conservative, nationalist Liberal Democratic Party
-
Russia is ‘helping China’ prepare for an invasion of TaiwanIn the Spotlight Russia is reportedly allowing China access to military training
-
Interpol arrests hundreds in Africa-wide sextortion crackdownIN THE SPOTLIGHT A series of stings disrupts major cybercrime operations as law enforcement estimates millions in losses from schemes designed to prey on lonely users
-
China is silently expanding its influence in American citiesUnder the Radar New York City and San Francisco, among others, have reportedly been targeted
-
How China uses 'dark fleets' to circumvent trade sanctionsThe Explainer The fleets are used to smuggle goods like oil and fish
-
One year after mass protests, why are Kenyans taking to the streets again?today's big question More than 60 protesters died during demonstrations in 2024
-
What happens if tensions between India and Pakistan boil over?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION As the two nuclear-armed neighbors rattle their sabers in the wake of a terrorist attack on the contested Kashmir region, experts worry that the worst might be yet to come
