Sisi: The Coptic Church Explosion Was Terrorist and Suicide Attack

Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, the President of Egypt, described the explosion at the Coptic Cathedral in Cairo as a "suicide and terrorist attack" during the funeral ceremony for the victims on Monday. According to the Egyptian newspaper Al-Ahram, the president, attending the funeral for the victims of the explosion that occurred on Sunday, December 12, at the Coptic Cathedral next to the Unknown Soldier Memorial, stated: "The perpetrator of yesterday's explosion is a 22-year-old named Mohamed Shafiq Mohamed Mustafa, who detonated his explosive belt in the church." He added that "four people have been arrested in connection with this attack, one of whom is a woman." The massive explosion that took place on Sunday in the most important cathedral of Coptic Christians in Cairo during a prayer service left many victims, with the latest reports indicating 24 dead and 49 injured. Egyptian security officials stated that the weight of the bomb, which contained TNT, was 12 kilograms and exploded in a corner of the church designated for women. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack so far, and the Egyptian president did not accuse any group in his remarks. Exiled officials of the Muslim Brotherhood and Egyptian militia groups, along with the international community, condemned these attacks, with only the Islamic State expressing happiness about this bombing on their social media pages. In Egypt, the MENA news agency reports that the suicide bomber and three other detainees are from the city of Fayoum in central Egypt, while the fourth is from an area in the outskirts of Cairo called Matariya, both of which are regions with a significant presence of serious supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood. Two days prior to the explosion at the Coptic Cathedral, another explosion occurred on Al-Haram Street in Giza, resulting in the deaths of six people, including several military personnel and a security investigator, and injuring three others. 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.