Ten people were killed when gunmen opened fire on a Coptic Orthodox Church in Cairo on Friday, a church spokesman said, in the latest in a series of attacks on Egypt’s Christian minority.
The assault fired on the Mar Mina Church in the southern Cairo neighborhood of Helwan. Allegedly one gunman was killed in police encounter. the spokesman, Boules Haliem, said by telephone.
“He did not manage to get in,” Mr. Haliem said of the gunman. Worshippers were killed while they are leaving the church and a police officer also killed in the firing. Eight more worshipers and a police officer were injured.
“The church was full,” Mr. Haliem said. “They were attending Mass.” Photographs showed several bullet holes in the facade of the church.
Two of the injured were in critical condition, he said. Coptic Christians is about 10 percent of Egypt’s population of 96 million. This was not the first deadly attack on Christian worshipers in Cairo, but the capital is not accustomed to this sort of attack on civilians.
The Islamic State extremist group claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement that was circulated on the messaging app Telegram. The statement said that 10 people had been killed, and it described the victims as “crusaders” and “apostates.” The statement also said that one of the attackers had been killed.
The assault came just over a month after Egypt’s deadliest terror attack, in which more than 300 Sufi Muslims were killed at a mosque in the Sinai Peninsula, as the militant group steps up its campaign of violence against Egypt’s minorities.
The Islamic State declared its intention to attack Egyptian Christians last year as it seeks a stronger foothold in Egypt after defeats in Syria and Iraq. It has since killed more than 100 Egyptian Copts by bombing churches and attacking buses carrying pilgrims.
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