Egypt Church bombings: Trump condemns terror attack, expresses confidence in el-Sisi

Washington D.C. [United States], Apr. 9 (ANI): U.S. President Donald Trump has condemned the bomb attacks on two churches in Egypt on Sunday, saying that he has confidence that his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah el-Sisi will handle the situation properly. "So sad to hear of the terrorist attack in Egypt. U.S. strongly condemns. I have great confidence that President Al Sisi will handle situation properly," Trump tweeted. Trump had openly supported el-Sisi during the latter's visit to the United States last week. Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin also offered his condolences to Egypt's President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi after the terrorist attack in Tanta on Sunday. President Putin offered sympathy with families and friends of the victims, wishing soonest recovery to the injured, reports the Tass news agency. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi also expressed his grief on the bomb attacks in Egypt. "Deeply pained by the attacks in Egypt. We condemn these attacks. My thoughts are with families of the deceased & prayers with the injured," Prime Minister Modi tweeted. The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has reportedly claimed responsibility for the two attacks on churches in Egypt that left at least 37 people dead and injured several others. "A security detachment of the Islamic State carried out the attacks against the two churches in the cities of Tanta and Alexandria," the New York Times quoted an online statement shared by sympathisers and attributed to the militants as saying. At least 26 people were killed in a bomb attack near a church in Egypt's Tanta, north of Cairo. Another explosion occurred in front of St. Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in Alexandria killing at least 11 persons. The explosions took place when Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria, was leading the Palm Sunday mass, local media reports said. The pope, however, has been reported unhurt in the blast. The attack is the latest in a series of assaults on Egypt's Christian minority, which makes up around 10 percent of the population of 92 million, and has been repeatedly targetted by the Islamic extremists. In December last year, 25 people were killed by a suicide bombing at Cairo's main Coptic cathedral. The ISIS later claimed responsibility for the blast. (ANI)