REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, CAIRO -- Two Islamic State militants wearing suicide vests carried out the deadly church bombings in Egypt on Sunday that killed at least 44 people, the group said in a statement on Sunday that warned of future attacks.
The Alexandria bombing was carried out by an Islamic State militant it identified as Abu Al-Baraa Al-Masri, while the Tanta church bombing was carried out by an individual it named as Abu Ishaaq Al-Masri.
On Sunday, at least 44 people were killed in bomb attacks on two Coptic churches on Palm Sunday, in the latest assault on a religious minority increasingly targeted by Islamist militants.
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Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attacks, which also injured more than 100 people and occurred a week before Coptic Easter, with Pope Francis scheduled to visit Egypt later this month.
The first bombing, in Tanta, a Nile Delta city about 100 km (60 miles) north of Cairo, tore through the inside of St. George Church during its Palm Sunday service, killing at least 27 people and injuring at least 78, the Ministry of Health said.
The second, a few hours later in Alexandria, hit Saint Mark's Cathedral, the historic seat of the Coptic Pope, killing 17 people, including three police officers, and injuring 48, the ministry added.
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