Dozens of Coptic Christians were killed Sunday after terrorist bombs ripped through a churches in the Egyptian cities of Tanta and Alexandria. ISIS claimed responsibility for the blasts the same day.
The exact moment of the explosions, captured in camera footage from both churches, was rebroadcast on CNN Sunday afternoon.
“The images we are about to show you are very disturbing,” said CNN anchor, Fredricka Whitfield, shortly before broadcasting.
From Tanta, the footage shows worshipers praying the moment a bomb went off. The video feed is cut off, but people can be heard screaming in audio. In Alexandria, the full explosion was captured on video.
The terrorist attack drew a swift rebuke from President Donald Trump on Twitter.
So sad to hear of the terrorist attack in Egypt. U.S. strongly condemns. I have great…
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 9, 2017
…confidence that President Al Sisi will handle situation properly.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 9, 2017
In Egypt meanwhile, President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi declared a three-month “state of emergency.”
#BREAKING Egypt’s Sisi declares three-month state of emergency
— AFP news agency (@AFP) April 9, 2017
It’s far from the first time the country’s minority population of Coptic Christians has been targeted. As Mediaite’s Josh Feldman previously reported:
There was another Coptic church bombing last December that killed and injured dozens––ISIS claimed credit for that as well––and just last month Human Rights Watch wrote about how hundreds of Coptic Christian families in Egypt were fleeing their homes because they were “fearing for their lives in the wake of seven murders between January 30 and February 23.”
[image via screengrab]
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