At least 25 killed in Cairo cathedral explosion

Egyptian state television has reported that 25 people, mostly women, have been killed in an explosion near Cairo's Coptic cathedral.


Security sources said that six children were also among the dead and around 49 people were injured.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

The blast near Saint Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in the Abbasiya neighbourhood is the deadliest suspected attack on the country's beleaguered Christian minority in recent memory.

The cathedral is the seat of Coptic Pope Tawadros II.

A device containing about 12kg of the explosive TNT denoted on the women's side of the cathedral, security sources said.

Copts, who make up about 10% of Egypt's population of 90 million, have faced persecution and discrimination that spiked during the 30-year rule of Hosni Mubarak, who was toppled by a popular uprising in 2011.
 [rte.ie]
11/12/16
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