Egypt says it killed 19 militants suspected of attacking Coptic Christians

The funeral of a Coptic Christian killed on Friday.
(Image credit: Mohamed el-Shahed/AFP/Getty Images)

Two days after seven Coptic Christians were killed in Egypt's Minya Province, the country's Interior Ministry announced it killed 19 of the militants suspected of carrying out the attack.

On Friday, gunmen opened fire on buses carrying Coptic Christians who had been visiting a monastery. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack, the deadliest to target Coptic Christians in Egypt this year.

The government has been fighting ISIS militants in the northern Sinai Peninsula. On Sunday, Egypt's Interior Ministry said security forces were able to determine that the suspects involved in the shooting were in a hideout in Minya Province. There was a shootout, and 19 militants were killed, officials said. A Western security official told The Wall Street Journal the Egyptian government has decided "not to take any prisoners. It's a strong sign, if you are part of one of these cells, you don't get away with your life."

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