Death toll rises to 25 in blast near Cairo’s Coptic Cathedral: Health minister

At least 25 people were reported killed and 31 injured after an explosion near the Coptic Cathedral in Cairo’s Abbassyia district early Sunday morning, Minister of Health Ahmed Emad told CBC Extra satellite channel.

The Coptic Church’s official spokesperson Rev. Paul Halim told Al-Ahram Arabic that the explosion took place in the small church of St Peter and St Paul (El-Botroseya), attached to the Coptic Cathedral.

Security forces are screening the area and have blocked the main roads surrounding the cathedral.

The injured have been transferred to Dar El-Shefaa and Ain Shams University Hospital.

This is the third explosion this week. On Friday, an explosion killed six policemen and injured three others in Giza’s Haram district and another occurred in Kafr El-Sheikh international road, killing one civilian and injuring three policemen.

Source: Ahram Online