Egypt Church Blast Kills 21
CAIRO (AFP) -- At least 21 people were killed and 80 others injured early Saturday in an attack on a church in the northern Egyptian city of Alexandria, a security official told AFP. The attack, apparently caused by a car bomb, took place as the faithful left the church in the Sidi Bechr district at around half past midnight on New Year's Day. The witnesses said a burnt-out car was in front of the entrance to the church. Many christians were demonstrating in front of a nearby mosque, the witnesses told AFP. While it was not immediately known who was responsible for the blast, a group calling itself Al-Qaeda in Iraq had threatened the Egyptian Coptic Christians. The bombing came almost two months to the day after an October 31 attack by militants on Our Lady of Salvation church in central Baghdad, which left the 44 worshippers, two priests and seven security forces members dead. Al-Qaeda's Iraqi affiliate claimed responsibility for the attack and made new threats against Christians. The group threatened to attack Egyptian Copts if their church did not free two Christians it said had been "imprisoned in their monasteries" for having converted to Islam. The two women were Camilia Chehata and Wafa Constantine, the wives of Coptic priests whose claimed conversion caused a stir in Egypt. Protection around Copt places of worship was discreetly stepped up after the threats, as President Hosni Mubarak said he was committed to protecting the Christians "faced with the forces of terrorism and extremism." The Copts, the biggest Christian community in the Middle East and who account for up to 10 percent of Egypt's 80-million population, often complain of discrimination and have been the target of sectarian attacks.