Egypt attack: Gunfire on bus carrying Coptic Christians kills at least 26

Egypt Gunmen Kills 23 Coptic Christians In Bus Attack (26 May 2017)

A team of gunmen opened fire on a bus carrying Coptic Christians south of Cairo Friday, killing at least 26 people, including children, and wounding 25 other people, Egyptian officials confirmed.

As many as 10 attackers stormed the bus dressed in military uniforms and wearing masks, according to witnesses. The victims were on their way to visit a monastery.

Gunmen in Egypt attacks bus filled with Coptic Christians

Only three children survived the attack, the Copts United news portal reported. Arab TV stations showed images of a badly damaged bus along a roadside, many of its windows shattered. Ambulances parked around it as bodies lay on the ground, covered with black plastic sheets.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but Egypt’s Coptic Christians have become the preferred target of the Islamic State in the region. Egypt's Copts, the Middle East's largest Christian community, have repeatedly cried out for help from discrimination, as well as outright attacks, at the hands of the country's majority Muslim population. Coptic Christians account for about 10 percent of Egypt's 93 million people.

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Among the wave of recent attacks on Egypt's Christians: twin suicide bombings in April and another attack in December on a Cairo church that left over 75 people dead and dozens more wounded. ISIS in Egypt claimed responsibility for them and vowed more attacks.

Many of Egypt's Christians rallied behind the general-turned-president, Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, in 2013 when he ousted his Islamist predecessor Mohammed Morsi, who hails from the Muslim Brotherhood group. Attacks on Christian homes, businesses and churches have surged in the ensuing years, especially in the country's south.

In February, members of an ISIS affiliate released a video saying that Egyptian Christians were their "favorite prey." The video showed images of a suicide bomber who killed nearly 30 people inside a packed Cairo church in December.

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"God gave orders to kill every infidel," one of the militants carrying an AK-47 assault rifle said in the 20-minute video.

The latest deadly attack came on the eve of the holy Muslim month of Ramadan. The bus was traveling on the road to the St. Samuel Monastery in the Minya governorate, about 140 miles south of Cairo, the health ministry said.

On Wednesday, the U.S. Embassy in Cairo issued a security message, stating that it was aware of a potential threat posted on a website by the Hassm Group, a known terrorist organization, suggesting some kind of unspecified action that evening.

Pope Francis visited Egypt late last month, in part to show his support for Christians in this Muslim majority Arab nation who have been increasingly targeted by Islamic militants. During the trip, Francis paid tribute to the victims of the December bombing at Cairo's St. Peter's church, located in close proximity to Cairo's St. Mark's cathedral, the seat of the Coptic Orthodox Church.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.