On 9 April, explosions targeting Palm Sunday services at two churches in Egypt killed at least 44 people and injured over 100 others.
According to reports, the first bomb exploded at the St. George’s Coptic Orthodox Church in Cairo, killing 27 people and wounding 78. The second explosion — a suicide bomb attack — killed a further 17 people and injured 48 others at the St. Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in Alexandria.
Sunday's bombings are the latest in a series of attacks targetting Coptic Christians in the country. In December 2016, 25 people died in an explosion at the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul in Cairo. This year hundreds of Christians fled Sinai, after a string of extremist attacks left 3 Christians dead in Al-Arish.
Following the incident, Islamic State (IS), claimed responsibility for the attacks, warning that more of the same could be expected in the future.
Prayer points:
- Pray for God's comforting presence over those grieving the loss of loved ones
- Pray that the Egyptian government would take all steps necessary to ensure the protection of all Christians in the country
- Pray that those responsible for the attacks would be brought to justice
- Pray that Egyptian Christians would seek to respond to the attacks in a Christlike manner
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