Egypt Says Church Bomber Linked to Muslim Brotherhood

A Coptic Christian man chants slogans during a protest on
Monday, December 12, 2016 for victims of the bombing
during Sunday mass at a chapel adjoining St Mark's Cathedral. 

By Rabea Al Awwal
The National World

A suicide bomber who killed at least 25 people in Cairo’s main cathedral on Sunday was a Muslim Brotherhood supporter who joined a militant cell while on the run from police, the interior ministry said.

At least 49 people were wounded when the bomb went off in a chapel adjoining St Mark’s Cathedral, Cairo’s largest church and seat of the Coptic Christian papacy.

The interior ministry named the attacker on Monday as Mahmoud Shafik Mohammed Mostafa, a 22-year-old student. President Abdel Fattah El Sisi said four people had been detained and two were on the run.

Mostafa was arrested in March 2014 for carrying arms during a protest, and was freed on bail after two months. The interior ministry said he had joined a cell led by Mohab Mostafa Sayyed Qassem, a militant with links to ISIL fighters in Northern Sinai and exiled Brotherhood officials in Qatar, and was wanted in two other cases.

The Egyptian government on Tuesday released footage showing the suicide bombing, including images of the attacker. The CCTV video shows the street across from the chapel adjacent to St Mark’s Cathedral, seat of Egypt’s ancient Coptic Orthodox Church.

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