Egyptian forces kill militants behind Coptic attack

Security forces in Egypt killed 19 militants suspected of staging the Friday attack in which seven Coptic Christians died, the Interior Ministry said in a statement Sunday. The ministry said the forces tracked down the militants to a cell in the desert west of the central Minya province. Islamic State (ISIS) claimed responsibility for the attack, in which gunmen targeted a bus of Coptic pilgrims near the Monastery of Saint Samuel the Confessor in Beni Suef province.

Hundreds of Christians attended the Saturday burial service for victims at Prince Tadros Coptic Church in Minya. Photos from the security forces’ raid showed the bodies of the slain militants and the black ISIS banner. ISIS has repeatedly targeted Coptic Christians, who make up about 10 percent of the Egyptian population.