Three
people, including a girl aged eight, died when gunmen on motorcycles
opened fire on a wedding party outside a Coptic Christian church in
Cairo.
At least nine others were wounded in the attack in Giza, officials said.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility.
Egypt's Coptic Christian community has been targeted by some
Islamists who accuse the Church of backing the army's overthrow of
President Mohammed Morsi in July.
The unidentified attackers fired indiscriminately as people left the church.
Egypt's Coptic Orthodox Church
- 6-11 million members in Egypt
- About 1 million members outside the country
- Copts believe their Church dates back to about 50 AD
- Led by the Pope of Alexandria, Tawadros II
- Services take place partly in ancient Coptic language (based on language used at the time of the Pharaohs)
A man and a girl were killed outside the church and a woman died on her way to hospital.
"We heard a very loud sound as if something was collapsing," one eyewitness said.
"I found a woman seated in a chair with lots of bullet
wounds, covered in blood. Many other people had fallen around her,
including a child," he added.
Coptic priest Thomas Daoud Ibrahim said he was inside the church when the gunfire erupted.
"What happened is an insult to Egypt, and it's not only
directed against Coptic Christians. We are destroying our own country,"
he said.
Another priest, Beshay Lotfi, told Egyptian media that the church had been left without a police guard since the end of June.
The Coptic Orthodox Church is one of Christianity's oldest, founded in Alexandria around 50 AD.
Christians make up at least 10% of the population in Egypt, or well over eight million people.
When the chief of the army, General Abdul Fattah al-Sisi went
on television to announce that President Morsi had been removed from
power, Pope Tawadros II appeared alongside him.
Pope Tawadros said that the "roadmap" mentioned by the
general had been devised by honourable people, who had Egypt's best
interests at heart.
Some Islamists took this as a sign that the Church had conspired in their leader's overthrow.
Pope Tawadros has received death threats, while several
Christians have been killed. Christian shops, homes and businesses have
also been targeted.
A priest at the church said it had been left unguarded by police since June
SOURCE: BBC
