21 Christians were murdered last night when a car bomb exploded as they were leaving New Year’s Mass.
A man mourns over a family member killed in a car bomb attack on a Christian church in Alexandria on January 1, 2011. A suspected suicide bomber blew himself up outside the Coptic church on Saturday, killing 21 people and wounding 79 others in an attack President Hosni Mubarak said was the work of “foreign hands.” (AFP)
Coptic Church leaders in Europe have revealed they are the targets of terror threats since the New Year’s bombing in Alexandria.
BBC News reported:
Coptic Church leaders across Europe have revealed they have been the target of threats in the wake of the New Year’s Day bomb attack in Egypt.
A priest in Paris has made a complaint to police which has led to an inquiry by the anti-terror squad, reports say.
A senior official in the UK says threats have been “outlined” against two churches, and a bishop in Germany has called for government protection.
The Alexandria bombing killed 21 people as worshippers left midnight mass.
The security concerns in Europe come days before Coptic communities celebrate Christmas on 7 January.
Girguis Lucas, a priest at the Coptic Church of St Mary and St Mark in Paris, told AFP news agency that a member of his congregation had spoken of internet threats “from Islamic mujahideen who announced more attacks in Europe and especially in France and mentioned our church”.
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“Start QuoteWe take any threat as being viable”
End Quote Bishop Angaelos General Bishop of the Coptic Orthodox Church in Britain
The General Bishop of the Coptic Orthodox Church in Britain, Bishop Angaelos, said that he had discussed the threats with fellow bishops across Europe and that precautions taken after earlier attacks had been heightened.
Hat Tip Gini