[h=1]At least 28 people killed, including children, as masked gunmen 'dressed in military uniforms' open fire on a bus carrying Coptic Christians to pray at a monastery in Egypt[/h]
WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT
Ten masked gunmen opened fire on buses carrying Coptic Christians in Egypt
At least 28 killed and more injured when attackers sprayed bullets at the convoy
Worshipers were heading to St Samuel Monastery to pray when gunmen struck
ISIS has claimed responsibility for recent deadly attacks on churches in Egypt
At least 28 people including 'many children' are dead after a bus carrying Coptic Christians was attacked in Egypt. Pictured is the interior of the bus, smeared with blood
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At least 28 people including children are dead and injured 25 after masked gunmen opened fire on buses carrying Coptic Christians in Egypt, it has emerged. Up to 10 masked attackers dressed in military uniforms stopped a convoy in Minya province, 140 miles south of Cairo, as the group was heading towards Saint Samuel the Confessor Monastery in Maghagha to pray. The gunmen, who arrived in three four-wheel drive vehicles, used automatic weapons to spray bullets at the convoy before fleeing. A health ministry official said a 'large number' of victims were children. The group was travelling in a convoy of two buses and a truck from the nearby province of Bani Suief when the mass shooting happened. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, which came on the eve of the holy Muslim month of Ramadan. It comes after ISIS claimed responsibility for three deadly church attacks in December and April that claimed the lives of dozens of people. The jihadists threatened more attacks against the Arab country's Christians, who make up around 10 per cent of its population of about 90 million.
Up to 10 masked attackers dressed in military uniforms stopped a bus in Minya province, 140 miles south of Cairo, as the group was heading towards Saint Samuel the Confessor Monastery in Maghagha to pray. Pictures have emerged purporting to show the aftermath of the shooting
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Shocking pictures have started to emerge showing bodies covered with black sheets near the scene of the atrocity
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At least 28 people including children are dead and 25 injured after masked gunmen opened fire on a bus carrying Coptic Christians in Egypt, it has emerged. Pictures show people grieving at the scene
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An injured child is taken to the Maghagha hospital by medics after being shot by masked gunmen who opened fire with automatic rifles
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Harrowing: A child cries at the scene of the deadly attack on a bus carrying Coptic Christians in Egypt
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The group was travelling in two buses and a truck to St Samual Monastery, south of Cairo from the nearby province of Bani Suief
Pictures of the bus aired by state television showed the vehicle riddled with machine-gun fire and its windows shot out. Ambulances were parked around it as bodies lay on the ground, covered with black plastic sheets. Security forces launched a hunt for the attackers, setting up dozens of checkpoints and patrols on the desert road. The grand imam of al-Azhar, Egypt's 1,000-year-old centre of Islamic learning, said the attack was intended to destabilise the country. 'I call on Egyptians to unite in the face of this brutal terrorism,' Ahmed al-Tayeb said from Germany, where he was on a visit. President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi called a meeting of security officials, the state news agency said.
Egypt has been fighting ISIS militants who have waged an insurgency, mainly focused in the volatile north of the Sinai Peninsula but there have been also attacks on the mainland. The country has seen a wave of attacks on its Christians, including twin suicide bombings in April and another attack in December on a Cairo church that left over 75 people dead and scores wounded. ISIS in Egypt claimed responsibility for them and vowed more attacks. Late last month Pope Francis visited Egypt in part to show his support for the Christians of this Muslim majority Arab nation who have been increasingly targeted by Islamic militants. During the trip, Francis paid tribute to the victims of the December bombing at Cairo's St. Peter's church, which is located in close proximity to the St. Mark's cathedral, the seat of the Coptic Orthodox Church.
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No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, which came on the eve of the holy Muslim month of Ramadan
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Witnesses said the gunmen arrived in four-wheel drive vehicles dressed in military uniforms before spraying the bus using automatic weapons
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Images broadcast on state television show a badly damaged bus with blown-out windows and covered on the inside with blood
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The bus was riddled with bullet holes in the latest attack on Egypt's Coptic Christians after a series of bombings on Palm Sunday
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Hundreds of people rushed to the nearby hospital in Maghagha city, near al-Minya, as the wounded were brought in for treatment
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While some waited for news of their loved ones outside the hospital, others waited to carry out the bodies of those who died
Following the pope's visit, the ISIS affiliate in Egypt vowed to escalate attacks against Christians, urging Muslims to steer clear of Christian gatherings and western embassies as they are targets of their group's militants. Egypt's Copts, the Middle East's largest Christian community, have repeatedly complained of suffering discrimination, as well as outright attacks, at hands of the country's majority Muslim population. Over the past decades, they have been the immediate targets of Islamic extremists. They rallied behind general-turned-president, Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, in 2013 when he ousted his Islamist predecessor Mohammed Morsi, who hails from the Muslim Brotherhood group. Attacks on Christian homes, businesses and churches subsequently surged, especially in the country's south.
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The Christians were on the way to Monastery of St Samuel the Confessor, in Minya Province (pictured) when they were attacked on Friday
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On April 9, 45 people were killed in twin church bombings claimed by ISIS as Christians gathered to celebrate Palm Sunday in the cities of Tanta (pictured) and Alexandria
Egypt's Copts, targets of an apparent church bombing north of Cairo on Sunday, are the Middle East's largest Christian minority and one of the oldest.
Making up about 10 percent of Egypt's population of 90 million, the Coptic Orthodox form the largest Christian denomination in the Muslim-majority country.
Here is a recap of their history, their status today and recent attacks against them.
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In December last year, a suicide bombing claimed by ISIS killed 29 worshippers during a Sunday mass in Cairo
'Dawn of Christianity'
The Copts trace their history to the dawn of Christianity, when Egypt was integrated into the Roman and later the Byzantine empire.
The word 'Copt' comes from the same root as the word for 'Egyptian' in ancient Greek.
The community's decline started with the Arab invasions of the 7th century and the progressive Islamisation of the country, which today is largely Sunni Muslim.
Several churches and monasteries in Egypt are built on sites Copts believe were visited by the Holy Family.
The Bible says Joseph, Mary and Jesus sought refuge in Egypt after Christ's birth to escape a massacre of newborns ordered by King Harod.
Copts today
Copts, represented in all social classes, are present across the whole country, with the strongest concentration in central and southern Egypt.
Most adhere to the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, headed since 2012 by Pope Tawadros II. A minority is divided between Coptic Catholics and various Coptic Protestant branches.
Tawadros, who succeeded pope Shenuda III, was chosen by a blindfolded altar boy picking his name from a chalice, according to tradition.
The Catholic Copts, who form part of the Church's eastern rite, have been headed by patriarch Ibrahim Isaac Sidrak since 2013.
The Vatican says some 165,000 Catholic Copts lived in Egypt in 2010.
Poorly represented in government, Copts complain that they are sidelined from many posts in the justice system, universities and the police.
Authorities often refuse to issue building permits for churches, arguing it would disturb the peace with their Muslim neighbours.
Deadly violence
Egypt's Copts have been the target of several deadly attacks since the 2011 uprising that toppled longtime president Hosni Mubarak.
On January 1, 2011, more than 20 people died in the unclaimed bombing of a Coptic church in Egypt's second city, Alexandria.
In March the same year, 13 people were killed in clashes between Muslims and Copts in Cairo's working class neighbourhood of Moqattam, where around 1,000 Christians had gathered to protest over the torching of a church.
In May 2011, clashes between Muslims and Copts left 15 dead in the Cairo neighbourhood of Imbaba, where two churches were attacked.
That October, almost 30 people -- mostly Coptic Christians -- were killed after the army charged at a protest in Cairo to denounce the torching of a church in southern Egypt.
The 2013 ouster of Mubarak's elected Islamist successor Mohamed Morsi after just one year in power sparked further attacks against Christians.
Pro-Morsi Islamists accused the Christian community of supporting his overthrow.
They pointed to the appearance of Tawadros alongside President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on television in July 2013 as the then army chief, also surrounded by Muslim and opposition figures, announced Morsi's removal.
The next month, security forces used deadly force to break up two pro-Morsi protest camps in Cairo.
The following two weeks saw attacks against more than 40 churches across the country, according to Human Rights Watch.
Amnesty International later said more than 200 Christian-owned properties were attacked and 43 churches seriously damaged, with at least four people killed.
In December last year, a suicide bombing claimed by ISIS killed 29 worshippers during a Sunday mass in Cairo.
A spate of deadly jihadist-linked attacks in Egypt's restive Sinai Peninsula in February prompted some Coptic families to flee their homes.
About 250 Christians took refuge in the Suez Canal city of Ismailiya after IS released a video calling for attacks against the minority.
