Egypt

Tanta church attack death toll rises to 29

Another victim of the Tanta church blast has died on Sunday, raising the total number of victims to 29.
 
The body of Victor Mina is expected to arrive in Tanta for burial at Mar Girguis Church on Sunday evening.
 
The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the bombing on Palm Sunday, leaving 29 victims and 90 wounded.
 

These attacks come against the backdrop of video footage from February titled "Fighting All Infidels" which showed a number of IS militants, who are part of the affiliated Sinai Province group, pledge to target Copts in different parts of Egypt.

The footage included statements from a Sinai Province militant who the terrorist group allege is the suicide bomber from a December 2016 attack on worshippers in the Abbasyia Cathedral, which left 29 dead.

Directly following the release of this video, violence committed by Sinai Province against the Coptic minority has been on the rise, especially in the North Sinai city of al-Arish.

Copts in Arish have been abducted, tortured and killed by Sinai Province militants, who often stormed their homes and either killed them in front of their families or left their bodies in public squares.

The unprecedented wave of brutality committed by Sinai Province pushed Coptic residents to flee the city, fearing they will be killed or slaughtered.

According to several testimonies from Copts who arrived in Ismailia governorate, the IS-affiliated group pledged to kill them if they continued to reside in Arish.

These threats have pushed almost 90 percent of Coptic residents from their hometowns in North Sinai. They have received food, shelter and refuge from the charities and churches in Ismailia.

 
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
 

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