Cairo, alBawaba, translated by Mohamed Sameh - All attempts by terrorists to provoke sectarian strife in Egypt have failed, despite a number of attacks against various churches, which confirms that there is an unidentified party trying to defame religions and create division between Muslims and Christians in Egypt on a sectarian basis, through attacks that target places of worship. The Ministry of Health announced that 24 people were killed and 49 others were wounded in an explosion in the vicinity of St. Peter's Church attached to St. Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in the Egyptian capital Cairo on Sunday morning, explaining that the reason for the high number of casualties is that the explosion took place at the time of prayers. All casualties and the wounded were transferred to Ain Shams, Dar El Shefa and Al-Demerdash hospitals, the ministry added. The bombing of the church was not the first of its kind, as seven people died in the city of Nag Hammadi, Upper Egypt, on the night of Christmas celebrations holiday in 2010, after they were shot to death while coming out of the church. However, security forces were able to apprehend the perpetrators and bring them to justice. The Nag'a Hammadi archdiocese is keen to hold memorial service for the victims on the anniversary of the massacre and put large photos of them in the monastery, considering them as martyrs, in the presence of their parents and loved ones. On January 1, 2011, an explosion targeted the Saints church at Khaleel Hamada Street in Sidi Bishr neighbourhood, Alexandria, which occurred on the eve of New Year celebrations, leaving 22 dead and 96 others wounded. And before that in 2009, an improvised explosive device (IED) exploded in front of Virgin Mary church in Zaytoon, Cairo, but without causing casualties or injuries. However, the blast damaged two vehicles. Also, security forces found another IED in the same place in north east of the capital and were able to neutralize its threat.
