Cairo: At least 45 people were killed and nearly 120 others injured in powerful blasts triggered by ISIS in two churches.
The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the twin attacks on churches on Palm Sunday, one of the holiest days of the Christian calendar.
“Islamic State squads carried out the attacks on two churches in Tanta and Alexandria,” said the group’s propaganda news agency Amaq on its social media accounts.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi ordered military deployments to protect “vital and important infrastructure” after the bombings.
“President Sisi... has decided to order the military to deploy protection units to guard vital and important infrastructure in all the republic’s provinces,” a statement from the presidency said.
In a statement, the interior ministry said a suicide bomber had planned to blow up himself using an explosive belt inside the church in Alexandria, but the security forces stopped him. A police officer and a policewoman, as well a low-ranking police officer, were killed while preventing the suicide bomber from entering the cathedral, the ministry said.
It said Pope Tawadros II was inside the cathedral leading Palm Sunday Mass, but he was not harmed in the attack.
However, Egypt’s Coptic church said Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria, had left the church just before the blast. Saint Mark’s Cathedral is the historical seat of the Pope of Alexandria, the head of the Coptic Orthodox Church.
Meanwhile, security forces dismantled two explosive devices at Sidi Abdel Rahim Mosque in Tanta city. The mosque, which includes a Sufi shrine, is considered the second most important mosque in city, Al-Ahram Arabic reported.
