The death toll of Alexandria church attack could reach 25 people, the Coptic Orthodox Church said in a statement on Saturday.
Egypt’s Interior Ministry said earlier that preliminary investigations of the explosion that hit the Church of St. Mark and St. Peter in Alexandria “was likely the act of a suicide bomber and not a car bomb”.
“Bodies of twenty [Christian] martyrs have been identified, while the human remains of other four or five people are yet to be identified,” said the statement which was signed by some Alexandria priests as well as Pope Shenouda’s secretary.
“As the church condemns the attack which threatens our security and the safety of our citizens, it also believes that the attack constitutes a serious escalation of sectarian violence against Copts,” the statement said.
“The attack came as a result of the continuous sectarian agitation that has been fuming in the last months,” the statement added,
It appeared from the statement that the Coptic Orthodox Church does not endorse the official position which holds that the attack was carried by “foreign organizations.”
