Four people accused in church attack given 15-day detention

Egypt’s prosecution ordered on Tuesday a 15-day detention for four people arrested on charges of involvement in a terrorist attack on a Coptic church in Cairo on Sunday, which left 24 dead and 49 injured.

Accusations against the defendants include belonging to the militant Islamist group Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis and receiving instructions from foreign groups to “destroy the country.”

Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis has claimed several attacks on Egyptian security forces over the past years. The group has announced its affiliation to the IS group.

Egypt’s interior ministry released a statement Tuesday morning saying it identified the terrorist cell involved in the Sunday bombing and arrested four of its members including one woman.

On Monday, authorities announced that the bombing attack at St. Peter’s Church was carried out by a suicide bomber identified as the 22 year old Mahmoud Shafik Mohamed Mostafa.

Sunday’s bombing was the deadliest attack on Egyptian Christians in years, killing mostly women and children.

In 2011, at least 21 Coptic Christians were killed in a suicide attack which targeted a New Year’s Eve mass at the Two Saints Church in Alexandria.

Source: Ahram Online