Update: 11 killed, 40 injured in explosion at Coptic church in Alexandria, Egypt

RT
Sun, 09 Apr 2017 12:05 UTC

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An explosion has occurred in front of St. Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral, Alexandria, killing six and injuring 21 according to Egypt's Health Ministry as cited by the AP. This follows a suspected bomb attack in Tanta, Egypt earlier Sunday morning.

Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria, had finished celebrating Palm Sunday mass and had left the scene when the explosion took place. He is reported unhurt.

The Egypt Independent reported a heightened security presence and that authorities had been placed on alert in anticipation of such attacks on Palm Sunday.

The attack earlier this morning at St. George's Coptic church in Tanta, approximately 130 km (80 miles) southeast of Alexandria killed at least 21 people and injured a further 38.

An image uploaded to Twitter corroborated by RT shows the scene at Al Akbat, a street adjacent to the Cathedral, following the blast.

No group has claimed responsibility for either blast so far and no relation between the two has been established.

Violence against Coptic christians has risen in recent years following the military coup in 2013. A bomb attack outside a Coptic cathedral in Cairo killed 25 and wounded 49 people in December of last year.

Crowds can be seen gathered at Al Akbat Church street in video corroborated by RT uploaded to YouTube following the blast.

Comment: Update: RT is reporting that ISIS has claimed responsibility for both attacks:

This follows another suicide bomb attack in Tanta, Egypt earlier Sunday morning. ISIS have claimed responsibility for both bomb attacks in Egypt.

See also: At least 21 dead, 38 injured in coptic church bombing north of Cairo

Update (April 19): A suspect has been detained:

A man suspected of having links to organization of the deadly terror attacks in the Egyptian cities of Tanta and Alexandria was detained by the country's police, local media reported.

Ali Mahmud Mohammed Hasan, who was detained on Tuesday, was included in the list of 19 persons suspected of organizing the attacks, the Veto media outlet reported.

On April 9, powerful explosions hit Coptic churches in the Egyptian cities of Tanta and Alexandria, with the Islamic State (IS) terror group, outlawed in Russia, claiming responsibility for the attacks. The blast in Alexandria claimed at least 18 lives, while the explosion in Tanta left at least 30 dead. Police have already arrested three people suspected of organizing the attacks.

On the same day Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Sisi declared a three-month state of emergency.