Egypt's Authorities Apprehend Suspects in Probe Into Attack on Coptic Christians

Egypt's security services detained some suspects as part of the investigation into Friday's terror attack on a bus carrying Coptic Christians.

CAIRO (Sputnik) — The detentions took place during raids in the desert terrain of the Minya governorate where the attack took place, and other regions of Egypt's south, the Al-Ahram newspaper said Sunday, citing sources in the security services.

Egypt's Interior Minister Magdy Mohamed Abdel Ghaffar formed the groups of the ministry's most professional specialists to investigate the routes of the perpetrators' vehicles before and after the attack. Apart from that, the testimonies of those who had survived in the attack are expected to help the experts identify the attackers, the news outlet added.

The attack was carried out by 12-15 armed militants who could be involved in the deadly explosions at Egypt's Coptic Orthodox churches on April 9, which left dozens of people killed, the newspaper noted.

On Friday, the terrorist attack took place close to the St. Samuel the Confessor Monastery. The armed assailants killed at least 29 Coptic Christians. Daesh reportedly claimed responsibility for the attack.

After the terror act, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Sisi said that Egypt was determined to eliminate terrorists both on its territory and beyond and stressed that the states supporting terrorism should be punished. As a result, the Egyptian Air Force carried out six airstrikes against the camps of Libya-based terrorist groups.

On Saturday, Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Hassan Shoukry stressed that that Cairo had all information and evidence about the training of extremists who had been involved in the terror acts in Egypt in the camps targeted by the strikes.