Gunmen kill 26 Coptic Christians in Egyptian bus attack

Gunmen in Egypt attacked a bus carrying Coptic Christians in the country’s south Friday, killing at least 26 people, including children, while injuring 25 others. Health Ministry spokesman Khaled Mogahed said the death toll could rise. The attackers intercepted the bus—traveling from Beni Suef province to the Saint Samuel the Confessor monastery in the Minya governorate, about 140 miles south of Cairo—along a side road in the desert leading to the monastery. No group immediately claimed responsibility, but Health Ministry officials, who cited eyewitnesses, said eight to 10 masked gunman dressed in military uniforms and wearing masks opened fire on the passengers. Egypt’s Coptic Christian minority population has faced heightened attacks in the past six months as the country’s Islamic State affiliate vowed to step up attacks. Earlier this week, Egypt referred 48 Islamic militants to the country’s military court for three separate bombings on Coptic churches that killed at least 69 people.

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