Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif on Sunday assigned the firm Arab Contractors the task of carrying out restoration efforts to the St. Mark and St. Peter Church, the mosque and surrounding buildings which were damaged in the fatal New Year Eve's bombing. Nazif earlier headed a ministerial meeting to follow up on the Alexandria bombing in which interior, legal affairs, social solidarity, health and local development ministers were present. At the meeting, Minister of Health Hatem al-Gabali said 14 dead bodies were identified, while the identities of three others remain unknown. The total number of injured people has reached 96, of whom 45 have been discharged from the hospital. The remaining victims, of whom four were flown to Cairo, are currently receiving treatment. Minister of Interior Habib al-Adli said his ministry is cooperating with the Attorney General and judicial bodies to probe into the incident and track down its perpetrators as soon as possible. The Minister of Solidarity said the families of dead victims were given LE20,000 each in compensation. Families of those injured were given LE500 each. The governor of Alexandria plans to offer compensation of LE15,000 and LE5000 for the families of the dead and injured, sources said. The Minister of Labor has raised funds to pay an additional LE5000 to bereaved families and LE2000 to families of the injured. Translated from the Arabic Edition.
