An attack by masked gunmen on a busload of Coptic Christians traveling to visit monastery south of Cairo has drawn widespread condemnation and disgust.
ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attack which “riddled the bus” with machine gun fire.
Twenty eight people including children died in the attack. Another 22 were injured. At least one of the victims was visiting Egypt from the UK.
Pope Francis offered his prayers for the victims and their grieving families. He condemned the attack as “barbaric” and urged Egypt to join in reconciliation with the victims.
In his message to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Francis said he was “deeply saddened to learn of the barbaric attack in central Egypt and of the tragic loss of life and injury caused by this senseless act of hatred.”
This is a “new crime added to the criminal record of a murderers’ gang,” Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group said.
It called for a “strong and frank stance in the face of terrorism that takes religion as a cover.”
Hezbollah added that these acts of terrorism should be fought so the “world does not go toward a precipice to which those criminals want to take it”.
This was the latest attack on Copts after Islamic State jihadists bombed three churches in December and April, killing dozens of Christians.
Source
- News24
- BBC News
- Image: Time Magazine
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