Egyptian security services have obtained important information that they hope will lead to the identities of the perpetrators of the New Years Eve bombing of St. Mark's and St. Peter's Church in Alexandria, which killed 21 and injured scores of others, Egyptian Interior Minister Habib al-Adli said.

According to informed sources, al-Adli revealed the information to Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif at a ministerial meeting on Sunday.

In his report to the prime minister, al-Adli asserted that "foreign elements" stood behind the bombing, and that "infiltrators" that had entered the country --with the assistance of certain Egyptians--had been identified.

He also said that forensic investigations had determined that the explosive device used in the attack had been manufactured locally. The device reportedly contained nails and shrapnel so as to yield the largest possible number of casualties.

The minister went on to assert that the bombing was typical of known terrorism methods; that it had been planned and implemented it by "foreign elements"; and that such acts were "alien to the values of Egyptian society."

Translated from the Arabic Edition.