Deadly attack on Christians

Photo: The Canadian Press

Dozens of people were killed and wounded in an attack by masked militants on a bus carrying Coptic Christians.

Masked gunmen riding in three SUVs opened fire Friday on a packed bus taking Coptic Christians on a visit to a monastery south of Egypt's capital, killing at least 28 people, including two children, authorities said.

Twenty-two others were reported wounded.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, the fourth against Christians since December, but it bore the hallmarks of the Islamic State group. The bloodshed came on the eve of the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

For years, Islamic militants have been waging an insurgency mostly centred in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, though a growing number of attacks have recently also taken place on the mainland.

The bus was ambushed on a side road in the desert on its way to the remote monastery of St. Samuel the Confessor in Maghagha, about 220 kilometres south of Cairo.

The monastery, reachable only by a short, unpaved route that veers off the main highway, is in Minya province, where Christians account for more than 35 per cent of the population, the highest level of any province.

Security officials quoted witnesses as saying they saw eight to 10 attackers in military uniforms and masks.