Pope Francis offered prayers for the Coptic Christian pilgrims who were attacked in Cairo by Islamic militants on Friday. “I pray for the victims, pilgrims killed just because they are Christians, and I ask Holy Mary to console their families and the whole community,” he said while offering condolences to the families of the victims. A similar attack was launched by the Islamic militants on Coptic Christians in Egypt last year. The Coptic Orthodox Church held funerals for the victims on Saturday.
At least 7 people were killed and 19 injured when the militants opened fire on the buses that carried Coptic Christian pilgrims. Egypt said that it had killed 19 militants in response to the attack. The Interior Ministry revealed that the security forces in Egypt traced the location of the militant attackers to a hideout in the Minya Province desert.
Coptic Christians are a minority group in Egypt that make up about 10% of Egypt’s population.
