On 2 November 2018, masked gunmen opened fire on a group of Egyptian Christians travelling by bus through Minya. There was a convoy of three vehicles and two of them managed to escape. The vehicles were carrying Copts traveling from Sohag Governorate and Minya Governorate in Egypt to the Monastery of Saint Samuel the Confessor.[3][4] At least 7 people from Minya were killed while 12[1][5] others were injured.[6] A similar attack near the same place had happened in 2017.[7]
| 2018 Minya bus attack | |
|---|---|
| Part of the Insurgency in Egypt (2013–present) | |
  Attack location 2018 Minya bus attack (Egypt)  Attack location 2018 Minya bus attack (Middle East) | |
| Location | Minya, Egypt |
| Date | November 2, 2018 |
| Target | Coptic Christians |
| Deaths | 7 |
| Injured | 12[1] |
| Perpetrators | Islamic State |
| Assailants | 19 militants (all killed two days later by police)[2] |
Background
editCopts have faced growing persecution and sectarian violence in Egypt since the early 2010s, including several in the last two years, all claimed by the Islamic State.
A similar attack happened on 26 May 2017, when masked gunman opened fire on a convoy carrying Copts in the same route of this attack, killing 29 people and wounding 22 others.[8]
On 29 December 2017, a gunman killed at least 11 people in attacks on a Coptic Orthodox church and a Christian-owned shop near Cairo before he was wounded and arrested.[9]
On 9 April 2017, Palm Sunday, terrorists bombed two Coptic churches — St. George's Church in the northern Egyptian city of Tanta on the Nile delta, and Saint Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral, the principal church in Alexandria — killing 47 people and injuring at least 126 others.[10]
On 11 December 2016, a suicide bomber killed 29 people and injured 47 others at St. Peter and St. Paul's Church (commonly known as El-Botroseya Church[11])
Attack
editOn 2 November 2018, three buses left Monastery of Saint Samuel the Confessor carrying Coptic Christians on their way to Minya. The Buses were ambushed by Islamic state fighters around Minya. During the ambush, the first two buses managed to escape with 12 injured passengers however the third bus was unable to escape the ambush and was forced to come to a stop. Seven civilians on board the bus were killed. [12][13]
Response and reactions
editThis section needs expansion with: details. You can help by adding to it. (November 2018) |
Two days later, 19 militants involved in the attack were killed in a shoot-out with the police.[2]
Pope Francis prayed for the victims in his Sunday Angelus Address, subsequent to the killings.[14]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b "At least 7 killed, 12 injured in terrorist attack on bus carrying Copts in Upper Egypt's Minya - Politics - Egypt - Ahram Online". english.ahram.org.eg.
- ^ a b "Coptic Christian attack: Egypt police 'kill 19 attackers'". BBC News. Retrieved 6 November 2018.
- ^ "الأقباط متحدون -راهب بدير الانبا صموئيل المعترف يروي تفاصيل الحادث". Retrieved 2 November 2018.
- ^ "Egypt: Deadly attack on Coptic Christians". BBC News. 2 November 2018. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
- ^ "Egyptian prosecutors sent to site of terrorist attack on Copts in Minya to investigate - Politics - Egypt - Ahram Online". english.ahram.org.eg.
- ^ "Coptic Christian attack: Funerals in Egypt for seven murdered pilgrims".
- ^ Raghavan, Sudarsan; Mahfouz, Heba Farouk (2 November 2018). "Gunmen in Egypt attack bus carrying Christians, killing at least 8 and wounding 13". Washington Post.
- ^ "ISIS claims responsibility for killing 29 Coptic Christians in Egypt". Nine.com.au. Retrieved 28 May 2017.
- ^ "Gunman kills 11 in attacks on Coptic church, Christian-owned shop..." Reuters.
- ^ Joe Sterling; Sarah Sirgany; Ian Lee (10 April 2017). "Egypt Cabinet OKs state of emergency after Palm Sunday church bombings". CNN. Retrieved 26 May 2017.
- ^ Chappell, Bill (11 December 2016). "Bomb Hits Coptic Christian Church In Cairo, Killing At Least 25". NPR.
- ^ "Hundreds of Copts mourn victims of Minya's bus terrorist attack". daily news egypt. 3 November 2018. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
- ^ "7 Dead In ISIS Attack On Bus Carrying Egyptian Christians". NDTV. 3 November 2018. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
- ^ Grogan, Courtney (4 November 2018). "Pope Francis mourns victims of attack on Coptic Christians in Egypt". Crux Taking the Catholic Pulse. Colorado: Catholic News Agency. Archived from the original on 5 November 2018. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
