Suicide bomber killed in aborted attack in Egypt

A suicide bomber was killed during a failed attempt to attack a church in Egyptian capital Cairo, security officials sources said on Saturday.

The attempted attack took place when the suicide bomber tried to reach the church of Virgin Mary in the Egyptian governorate of Qalyubia and went to a nearby bridge to avoid the intense presence of security forces, intending to jump into the church, but the explosive devices he was carrying exploded there, Efe quoted a security official as saying.

A source from the Egyptian Interior Ministry said that the attempted attack left no further deaths or injuries.

After the incident, security has been reinforced, as police cordoned off the area and patrols have been deployed to search for possible suspects.

The Church of the Virgin Mary in Mostorod has a large influx of Coptic Christians these days, as they perform fasting between August 7 and 21.

Since December 2016, the Islamic State extremist group, which has an offshoot in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, has claimed responsibility for several attacks that killed more than 100 people in Egyptian churches in Cairo, Tanta and Alexandria.

After these attacks, the authorities have further reinforced security by deploying military and special forces personnel, who are still present in the vicinity of some churches.

--IANS

qd