On Sunday morning worshippers gathered at the St George’s Coptic Church, Tanta, North Cairo to celebrate Palm Sunday, one of the most important days in the Christian calendar. At about 10 a.m. local time, an explosion rocked the church and left twenty-one people dead, and according to the local police channels, over fifty people injured.
Background on the Coptic Church
Based in numerous cities scattered all over Egypt, the Coptic Church represents about ten percent of the ninety-two million population of Egypt.
The Coptic church holds similar beliefs to those of other Christians around the globe, though the Coptic Christians hold a different viewpoint on the humanity and divinity of Jesus Christ, the Christian Savior. The faith is said to have been established at around 55 AD when the Apostle Mark became its first Pope in Alexandria.
What took place on Sunday Morning?
According to the local news broadcaster Al Arabiya, the Coptic Christians had gone to church to celebrate the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, commemorated on Palm Sunday. The devotees were in the middle of their Sunday service when an explosion went off in the Nile Delta city church.
There have been no official reports as to what caused the explosion in the church, or if there had been any survivors from the incident. However, Provincial Governor Ahmad Deif told reporters, “Either a bomb was planted in the church, or somebody blew himself up.” A search is still on for any viable suspects.
When the explosion occurred, those nearby said that there had been heavy smoke seen coming from the church building. Whether or not anyone exited after the attack is not clear, but the local authorities say that at least thirteen people were confirmed dead on arrival at the site, and about fifty others had sustained injuries. The severity of the injuries was also not detailed to the public.
Footage released by CBC TV showed the carnage left behind in the aftermath of the ST George’s Coptic Church explosion. The short film showed dozens of people lying on the ground, immobile. The video also displayed in graphic detail bloody bodies strewn inside the church, some covered with papers and others not.
So far, no group has come forward to claim credit for the attack.
Could it be another religious attack?
Local authorities, however, have a hypothesis as to who may be behind Sunday’s incident. Last year there was a suicide-bombing attack on a Coptic Cathedral that left 25 Christians dead and 49 others injured. The group behind that particular attack was identified as an affiliate of the Muslim Brotherhood, a group outlawed in Egypt because of its Islamic Extremist ideologists.
The Muslim Brotherhood was a staunch supporter of the country’s former President Mohammad Morsi, who lost his presidency in 2013. Mr. Morsi was forcefully removed from power by the then-army chief Abdel-Fattah al-Siss. The Brotherhood believed that the Coptic Christians, a minority in the nation, supported Morsi’s usurping and have targeted the group ever since then. In fact, after an attack on an Egyptian police station in early April, the group promised further retribution for the church.
This attack takes place weeks before Pope Francis is scheduled to visit Egypt.
