-23 others were wounded and some are in critical condition
-Men, women and children are among the dead and injured
Cairo, Egypt: At least 28 people have been killed in Egypt after unidentified gunmen opened fire on a bus carrying Coptic Christians in what officials are calling a terror attack.
Ten assailants wearing fatigues and face masks fired on the passengers from three four-wheel drive vehicles, Egypt's Interior Ministry told CNN.
The Christians were traveling Friday to a monastery, St. Samuel the Confessor, around 100 km (62 miles) northwest of the city of Minya when they came under fire, the ministry said.
Twenty-three others were injured, some of whom are now in critical condition, Minya Gov. Essam El-Bedewy told Egyptian satellite channel ONTV. Men, women and children are among the dead and injured, officials said.
The attack comes as the country is still under a three-month state of emergency period following twin attacks on Coptic churches on Palm Sunday last month that killed dozens of people. ISIS claimed responsibility for those attacks.
Bodies lie in the desert after the bus attack on Coptic Christians near Minya in Egypt on Thursday.
It was not immediately clear who was responsible for the shooting, but Coptic Christians have been targeted by ISIS militants several times in recent years and ongoing violence has triggered amass exodus of Coptic Christians from some towns.
Spate of attacks
Coptic Christians make up about 10% of Egypt's population of 91 million. They base their theology on the teachings of the apostle Mark, who introduced Christianity to Egypt.Persecution and discrimination against Egypt's Coptic Christians has spiked since the toppling o fHosni Mubarak's regime in 2011.
Security officials at the site of the bus attack near Minya on Thursday.
In December, an attack on a Coptic churchin Cairo killed 25 people.
Coptic churches and homes have been set on fire, members of the Coptic minority have been physically attacked, and their property has been looted, rights group Amnesty International reported in March.
A church in Minya was torched in 2013, gutting its interior.
🌍 CNN's Schams Elwazer and Ian Lee contributed to this report.
-Men, women and children are among the dead and injured
Cairo, Egypt: At least 28 people have been killed in Egypt after unidentified gunmen opened fire on a bus carrying Coptic Christians in what officials are calling a terror attack.
Ten assailants wearing fatigues and face masks fired on the passengers from three four-wheel drive vehicles, Egypt's Interior Ministry told CNN.
The Christians were traveling Friday to a monastery, St. Samuel the Confessor, around 100 km (62 miles) northwest of the city of Minya when they came under fire, the ministry said.
Twenty-three others were injured, some of whom are now in critical condition, Minya Gov. Essam El-Bedewy told Egyptian satellite channel ONTV. Men, women and children are among the dead and injured, officials said.
The attack comes as the country is still under a three-month state of emergency period following twin attacks on Coptic churches on Palm Sunday last month that killed dozens of people. ISIS claimed responsibility for those attacks.
Bodies lie in the desert after the bus attack on Coptic Christians near Minya in Egypt on Thursday.
It was not immediately clear who was responsible for the shooting, but Coptic Christians have been targeted by ISIS militants several times in recent years and ongoing violence has triggered amass exodus of Coptic Christians from some towns.
Spate of attacks
Coptic Christians make up about 10% of Egypt's population of 91 million. They base their theology on the teachings of the apostle Mark, who introduced Christianity to Egypt.Persecution and discrimination against Egypt's Coptic Christians has spiked since the toppling o fHosni Mubarak's regime in 2011.
Security officials at the site of the bus attack near Minya on Thursday.
In December, an attack on a Coptic churchin Cairo killed 25 people.
Coptic churches and homes have been set on fire, members of the Coptic minority have been physically attacked, and their property has been looted, rights group Amnesty International reported in March.
A church in Minya was torched in 2013, gutting its interior.
🌍 CNN's Schams Elwazer and Ian Lee contributed to this report.
posted from Bloggeroid
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