Dozens Killed and Injured in Explosion at Coptic Church in Cairo

A massive explosion at the most important cathedral of Coptic Christians in Cairo during Sunday prayers on December 21 left many victims. According to initial reports from Egyptian authorities, 22 to 25 worshippers inside the church were killed instantly, and dozens more were injured. Egyptian sources have indicated that the death toll may rise due to the condition of the injured. Most of the dead and injured are women and children; evidence suggests that the bomb exploded in an area where many women and their children were present. Egyptian media, which broadcast scenes of the incident, reported significant damage to the Coptic church in Cairo and its surrounding areas. Witnesses have assessed that a bomb placed inside a bag brought into the church by a woman was the cause of this horrific explosion. Some witnesses stated that a woman placed a bag in an arch of the church during prayers, and moments after she walked toward the church exit, the tragedy occurred. Egyptian media report that the bomb inside the bag was detonated remotely. Egyptian security officials have not yet made definitive statements regarding the testimonies of attendees about the woman with the bag who brought the bomb into the church. The 'Saint Mark' Church, also known locally as 'Marqos,' is an Orthodox Christian church located in the Abbasia area of Cairo. The office of the senior leader of the Orthodox Church, Coptic Pope Theodoros II, is located in this church. Coptic Christians make up ten percent of Egypt's eighty million population. Egyptian officials condemned the explosion as a 'treacherous blow to the heart of Egypt.' The Grand Mufti of Egypt also stated, 'A savage crime has occurred, which the Al-Azhar community and all its Muslims condemn decisively, and they express their condolences to their Christian compatriots.' Two days before the Cairo church explosion, another explosion in 'Al-Haram' street in Giza city resulted in the deaths of six people, including several military personnel and a security investigator, with three others injured. The group 'Hasm' claimed responsibility for the Giza explosion. Security experts say that 'Hasm' is aligned with the Muslim Brotherhood. The Sunday explosion at the Cairo church and the bomb explosion near security forces in Giza occurred on the eve of the anniversary of the January 2011 events that led to the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak's thirty-year regime. Since the fall of Mubarak's government, Egypt has had to confront extremist Islamists in the Sinai desert. In dozens of attacks and counterattacks over the past six years, hundreds of Egyptian soldiers have been killed, and Egypt claims to have inflicted heavy casualties on fighters from Islamist groups. The 'Ansar Beit al-Maqdis' group has aligned itself with ISIS for about three years and operates under the banner of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the caliph of the Islamic caliphate. Despite this, for more than three years since Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's government came to power, Cairo and other areas outside Sinai have experienced relative calm.