Photograph: Ben Curtis/AP
President Hosni Mubarak has urged Egypt’s Muslims and Christians to stand united against terrorism after a bombing outside a church in Alexandria.
At least 21 people were killed and 70 hurt in the suspected suicide attack, which happened during a New Year’s Eve service at the al-Qiddissin Church.
In a rare televised address, Mr Mubarak said it bore the hallmark of “foreign hands” seeking to destabilise Egypt.
Several hundred Christians later clashed nearby with Muslims and police.
‘In this together’
About 1,000 worshippers were attending the Mass at the al-Qiddissin (Saints) Church in the Sidi Bechr district of the Mediterranean port city.
As the service drew to a close after midnight, a bomb went off in the street outside.
“The last thing I heard was a powerful explosion and then my ears went deaf,” 17-year-old Marco Boutros told the Associated Press from his hospital bed. “All I could see were body parts scattered all over.”
Another witness told the private On-TV channel that he had seen two men park a car outside the church and get out just before the blast.
Officials initially thought the cause was a car bomb, but the interior ministry later ruled it out, saying the attack was instead “carried out by a suicide bomber who died among the crowd”.
Read the whole article on BBC News website.
Persona 