Egyptian Authorities Detain Accomplice in Failed Church Attack Case – Reports

CAIRO (Sputnik) – The Egyptian security services detained an accomplice of the perpetrator of the recent failed terrorist act at a church in Cairo, local media reported.

On Saturday, the authorities thwarted an attack on the church in the Egyptian capital’s northern neighborhood of Shubra Al Khaymah. According to news reports, a suicide attacker planned to carry out a blast inside the church but retreated after he noticed tightened security measures at the side. The explosion subsequently the area near the church causing no casualties except for the perpetrator himself who was killed by the blast.

The authorities had detained the attacker’s accomplice, who gave explosives to him the day before the terror act, and was near the church on the day of the incident, El Watan newspaper reported on Sunday, citing a law enforcement source.

Other people, involved in the organization of the attempted attack, would also be detained in the near future, the outlet added.

The authorities had to strengthen the security of the Egyptian Christian minority's churches after numerous attacks on them over the recent years.

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Particularly, in December 2016, an attack on a Coptic cathedral in Cairo's Abbasia district killed 29 people and injured 47 others. In April 2017, a double attack on the churches in the cities of Tanta and Alexandria claimed lives of at least 48 people, leaving around 90 others injured.