On December 11, a powerful blast rocked St. Peter and St. Paul's Church, a chapel adjacent to Saint Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral, the seat of the Coptic Orthodox Pope in Cairo. According to some reports, a suicide bomber got in between the crowd during the Sunday mass and detonated his explosive belt, killing 27 and wounding 47 people  in the services. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack.

The bombing was condemned by political and religious leaders at home and abroad. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi described it as a "terrorist act that has no place in Egypt” and declared a three-day mourning period. A militant group involved in recent attacks against Egyptian security forces also denounced the bombing, stating that “our prophet had taught us even while we fight not to kill a child nor woman nor old person nor worshiper in his place of worship." Leaders from all over the world sent letters of condolences to Egypt, including Pope Francis, who expressed “a special closeness to dear brother Pope Tawadros II.”

Copts constitute about 10% of the Egyptian population and have been facing increasing discrimination and persecutions since the toppling of Hosni Mubarak in 2011.

For further information, read:

http://edition.cnn.com/2016/12/11/middleeast/egypt-coptic-church/
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/12/egypt-20-killed-bomb-blast-coptic-cathedral-161211093122198.html
http://www.timescolonist.com/child-victim-of-egypt-church-attack-dies-death-toll-now-27-1.5013088
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/12/13/islamic-state-claims-deadly-cairo-church-bombing-killed-25/