Egyptian officials are scrambling the calm the concerns of its citizens among the Christian minority after a pair of blasts in the cities of Tanta and Alexandria has left dozens dead on Palm Sunday. According to still-developing reports, ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attacks.
In a report from Aljazeera, the bombings at the Coptic Churchings were revealed to be the work of the terrorist network known largely outside the states as Daesh. Tanta, a city some 70 miles north of Cairo, was the first to be rocked by the bombing and claimed the larger number of victims according to a report from Sky News. The site of the bombing was Mar Girgis, also known as St. George, and the building was filled with worshippers gathered to honor the day Jesus Christ was said to have entered Jerusalem for the first time.
The Alexandria bombing occurred hours later at the St. Mark’s Church in Alexandria, taking 11 lives according to the nation’s health ministry. While it appears the Tanta bombing was a planted device, the Alexandria attack was the work of a suicide bomber.
CNN notes in its report that the Palm Sunday assault targeted an especially exposed portion of the Egyptian population. The outlet added that the ISIL/ISIS Amaq media network posted that the group called the attacks a “security detachment” although that was not explained in detail.
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