Egyptian police kills 19 suspects of attack on Coptic Christians

The Egyptian police killed 19 people suspected of involvement in the attack that took place on Coptic pilgrims on Friday. According to the Ministry of the Interior, the suspects were killed in a gunfight.

In the Egyptian province of Minya, south of Cairo, a bus with Coptic pilgrims was attacked on Friday. In addition, seven people were killed. The attack was claimed by the terrorist group IS (Islamic State).

According to the Ministry of the Interior, the police conducted an attack on the suspected perpetrators of the attack in a mountainous area in Minya. When the suspects opened fire to the police, the agents shot back, the ministry reports.

Nineteen “terrorist elements” were killed. Automatic weapons were also seized in the shelter of the suspects.

Since the fall of Islamist President Mohamed Morsi, the security situation in Egypt has been unstable. Often security forces or heads are the target. It is estimated that about 10 percent of the nearly 100 million Egyptians are Christians.