They Were Headed to a Monastery. Then Came Death

23 Coptic Christians believed dead in attack on bus in Egypt
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted May 26, 2017 7:23 AM CDT
They Were Bound for a Monastery. Then Came Gunfire
An Egyptian Coptic nun weeps after a bombing at St. Mark Cathedral in Cairo, on Dec. 11, 2016.   (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty, File)

Egyptian state TV says 23 people were killed and 25 wounded in an attack by gunmen on a bus carrying Coptic Christians south of Cairo. The report quotes local health officials as saying that the attack happened on Friday while the bus was traveling on the road to the St. Samuel Monastery in the Minya governorate, about 140 miles south of the Egyptian capital, reports the AP.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for other recent attacks on Copts, including one that killed 46 on April 9, reports the BBC, which explains the Coptic Orthodox Church is Egypt's primary Christian Church. (More Egypt stories.)

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