Coptic Church of Mar Girgis
EGYPTIAN COPTIC CHRISTIANS HELD MASS FUNERAL AFTER PALM SUNDAY MASSACRE BY ISIS, KILLING 50
- Mourners gathered at the Coptic Church of Mar Girgis for a funeral after a suicide bomber killed 27 in Tanta
- The terrorist slipped past security during the Palm Sunday mass and blew himself up near the altar
- A second blast went off in St Mark’s Cathedral in Alexandria about two hours later, killing 17 and injuring 48
- Isis, which recently warned that it would step up violence against Egypt’s Christians, claimed responsibility
( Daily Mail ) Mourners filled a church in Egypt that had been torn apart in a terrorist bombing to commemorate the victims claimed in one of two attacks on Palm Sunday.
People in Tanta packed the streets leading to the Coptic Church of Mar Girgis – or St. George – to pay their respects while relatives inside laid their bodies across the coffins and wept.
A suicide bomber slipped past security and detonated the bomb while Christian worshippers were observing Jesus’ entry to Jerusalem, leaving blood splattered on the marble pillars while the sound of hymns turned to desperate screams. The blast killed 27 and injured 78 others.
Just two hours later, a suicide bomber entered St Mark’s Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in Alexandria, and killed 17 people. Another 48 people were injured in the second blast.
Both explosions, claimed by Islamic State, came at the start of Holy Week leading up to Easter, just weeks beforePope Francis is due to visit the Arab world’s most populous country.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sissi declared a state of emergency for three months in a defiant speech after a meeting of the national defense council.
Under the country’s constitution, Sisi will have to put the measure before parliament, which is stacked with his supporters, for approval within a week.
