عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Arab World

Egypt: Attack on Bus Bound for Coptic Monastery Causes Casualties

Egyptian forces via AFP
Egyptian forces via AFP
TT
20
TT

Egypt: Attack on Bus Bound for Coptic Monastery Causes Casualties

Egyptian forces via AFP
Egyptian forces via AFP

At least seven people were killed and others were wounded in an attack on a bus driving towards a Coptic monastery in Egypt on Friday, the Archbishop in Minya said.

Coptic sources said unknown gunmen fired a barrage on two buses carrying the Copts who were on their way to the monastery of St. Samuel in Minya south of the country.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, according to Reuters.

Security forces quickly surrounded the area as ambulances were rushed in to transport the injured to hospitals.

The exact location witnessed a similar terrorist incident in May 2017, when gunmen travelling in four-wheel-drives attacked two buses and a truck carrying a number of Copts to the monastery of Anba Samuel in Minya, killing 29 people and injuring 25 others.

Most Viewed

 
Arab World

France Expels 12 Algerian Officials in Tit-for-Tat Move amid Diplomatic Tensions

Algerian flags fly at half-staff along the seaside walk in Algiers, Saturday, Sept. 18, 2021. (AP)
Algerian flags fly at half-staff along the seaside walk in Algiers, Saturday, Sept. 18, 2021. (AP)
TT
20
TT

France Expels 12 Algerian Officials in Tit-for-Tat Move amid Diplomatic Tensions

Algerian flags fly at half-staff along the seaside walk in Algiers, Saturday, Sept. 18, 2021. (AP)
Algerian flags fly at half-staff along the seaside walk in Algiers, Saturday, Sept. 18, 2021. (AP)

France said Tuesday it was expelling 12 Algerian diplomatic officials a day after Algeria announced the expulsion of the same number of French officials in escalating tensions between the two countries.

Algeria said Monday that its expulsion of 12 French officials was over the arrest of an Algerian consular official by French authorities in a kidnapping case, but relations between the two sides have been deteriorating since last summer. That's when France shifted its position to support Morocco’s autonomy plan for Western Sahara — a disputed territory claimed by the pro-independence Polisario Front, which receives support from Algeria.

Tensions further peaked in November after Algeria arrested French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal, who is an outspoken critic of the Algerian regime. He has since been sentenced to five years in prison — a verdict he subsequently appealed.

In addition to what French officials called the "symmetrically" calibrated expulsion of 12 Algerian officials, France's ambassador to Algiers also was being recalled home for consultations, a statement from the French presidential palace said Tuesday.

It said Algerian authorities were responsible for "a brutal deterioration in our bilateral relations."

French counterterrorism prosecutors said three Algerian nationals in total were arrested last week and handed preliminary charges of "kidnapping or arbitrary detention … in connection with a terrorist undertaking."

The group is allegedly involved in the April 2024 kidnapping of an Algerian influencer, Amir Boukhors, or Amir DZ, a known critic of the Algerian government with 1.1 million followers on TikTok.

The latest surge in acrimony followed a brief easing of tensions about two weeks ago when French President Emmanuel Macron called Algerian counterpart Abdelmadjid Tebboune. French officials said they had agreed to revive bilateral relations.