Deir Mar Mina--Thousands of Egyptian Christians gathered on Saturday in the St. Mina Monastery off Borg el-Arab city to attend the funeral prayer of 21 Copts who were killed by a car bomb explosion while they were emerging from a New Year mass in Alexandria. Over 10,000 Christians walked in a procession following eight ambulances carrying coffins of the victims while chanting Kyrie eleison (Lord, have mercy). Earlier, some angry protesters sealed Alexandria Governor Adel Labib's motorcade, preventing him from attending the funeral, before two priests intervened to calm the demonstrators, Al-Masry Al-Youm reporter said. Twenty minutes after Friday's midnight, a car bomb exploded killing 21 people at the Church of St. Mark and St. Peter in Alexandria's Sidi Bishr area. President Hosni Mubarak urged Egypt's Christians and Muslims to unite and confront "terrorism" after the attack. There was no immediate claim, but al-Qaeda has threatened Christians everywhere, and called for punishment of Egypt's Copts, over claims that two priests' wives they say had converted to Islam were being held by the church against their will.
