By The Express UK –
At least 25 people have died and 49 more are injured in the blast, with the number expected to rise, according to Egyptian state television.
Many of the victims are women and children who were worshipping in the smaller St Peter’s church attached to the cathedral.
The blast at St Mark’s Orthodox Cathedral in the Abbassiya area of Cairo took place during Sunday morning prayers near the section designed for female churchgoers.
A device containing about 12 kg (26 pounds) of the explosive TNT had denoted on the women’s side of the cathedral, security sources said.
Video footage from the scene shows parts of the cathedral reduced to rubble, with shattered windows and a broken roof.
Security sources suggest an unidentified woman planted an IED inside a handbag in the cathedral before detonating the bomb remotely, despite heavy security around the building.
Egypt’s official MENA news agency said a suspect threw a bomb into a chapel close to the outer wall of St Mark’s Cathedral.
Cathedral worker Attiya Mahrous said: “I found bodies, many of them women, lying on the pews. It was a horrible scene.”
Mariam Shenouda said: “I saw a headless woman being carried away.
“Everyone was in a state of shock. We were scooping up people’s flesh off the floor.
“There were children. What have they done to deserve this? I wish I had died with them instead of seeing these scenes.”
Emad Shoukry, who was inside the cathedral when the blast took place, said: “As soon as the priest called us to prepare for prayer, the explosion happened.
“The explosion shook the place… The dust covered the hall and I was looking for the door, although I couldn’t see anything… I managed to leave in the middle of screams and there were a lot of people thrown on the ground.”
The explosion rocked St Peter’s Church within the cathedral grounds as a Sunday mass was held coinciding with a national holiday in Egypt marking the birth of Islam’s Prophet Muhammad.
Bishop Suriel tweeted: “So far 24 martyrs and 36 injured in St Peter Church bomb blast in Cathedral complex. Lord protect your people and have mercy on us!
“I’m on my way to the St Peter Church, site of the bomb blast to support the people there. Heartbroken but the Lord is near.”
The Foreign Office has warned British tourists in the areas to “remain vigilant at all times and follow the advice of local security officials.”
Egyptian authorities have closed roads around the cathedral as traffic in the area comes to a standstill.
Ambulances have rushed to the scene and Demerdash Hospital, where many of the victims have been taken, has put out an appeal for blood donors.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility, however some supporters of Islamic State celebrated the attack on social media.
“God is great, God is great, God is great,” one wrote on Telegram messenger.
“God bless the person who did this blessed act,” wrote another, also on Telegram.
Interior minister Magdi Abdel-Ghaffar and Cairo’s security chief both inspected the scene.
The explosion happened at around 10am local time (8am GMT).
The cathedral is the home of the Coptic Orthodox Church in Egypt and home to its leader, Pope Tawadros II of Alexandria.
He is yet to comment on the explosion.
Pope Tawadros was in Greece last night to open the Church of the Blessed Virgin and Marks in Athens.
The Coptic Orthodox Church is the largest Christian church in Egypt and the Middle East’s biggest Christian community.
Coptic Christians, who make up about 10 per cent of Egypt’s 90million people, have long complained of discrimination under successive Egyptian leaders.
It is not the first time St Mark’s has been hit with violence.
Two people were killed outside the cathedral in 2013 while mourning the deaths of four Coptic Christians killed in a clash with local residents.
On Friday, two roadside bombs – one in Cairo and one north of the capital – killed six policemen and wounded six others.
Egyptian security forces are fighting an Islamist insurgency led by Islamic State’s branch in North Sinai, where hundreds of soldiers and police have been killed. The insurgents have also launched deadly attacks Cairo and other cities.
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http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/742190/Cairo-Egypt-bomb-coptic-catholic-cathedral-terror-attack-Abbassiya-st-mark-orthodox
