Faithwire has reported extensively on the difficult and deadly year Coptic Christians in Egypt have had. They have endured multiple and ongoing attacks from extremists who want to eradicate Christianity, and another deadly attack happened today outside of Cairo.
No one has claimed responsibility for the attack, but it has all the markings of ISIS.
A bus full of Christians heading to an ancient monastery to pray were mercilessly gunned down by terrorists, according to the BBC and Reuters. One survivor of the attack, according to the Daily Mail, says they were masked gunmen and wearing military style uniforms.
The images coming from the scene are horrific.
Egypt shooting: 26 shot on bus carrying Coptic Christians – Daily Mail https://t.co/1lMiRoNPod via #hng #news pic.twitter.com/f3kZJxO9aT
— †avistock Reeves (@TavistockReeves) May 26, 2017
Here’s more:
Witnesses told Reuters news agency that the Copts killed on Friday had been traveling to the ancient Monastery of St Samuel, in western Minya, to pray. Masked men stopped their bus as it drove along a road leading to the monastery with one other bus and a small lorry, and then opened fire, they said. The health ministry cited witnesses as saying there had been between eight and 10 attackers, and that they had been wearing military uniforms. Copts make up about 10% of Egypt’s population of 92 million.
The number of dead has varied by report. BBC claims 23 were killed, while NPR and others place the death toll as high as 26. We will update as more information becomes available.
26 shot dead on bus carrying Coptic Christians in Egypt https://t.co/Hdt8WTG693 via @MailOnline
— American Mutt (@DynnysDerwydd) May 26, 2017
Christians have logged complaints in recent months that the government is not doing enough to protect them, even when the threat level is clearly high.
This is a developing story. Stay tuned for more details and information.
(h/t BBC)
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