US condemns Egypt church bombings

By Canberk Yuksel

NEW YORK

The U.S. on Sunday condemned “in the strongest terms” two church bombings in Egypt that killed at least 43 people and injured scores, according to a State Department statement.

President Donald Trump weighed in on Twitter while voicing confidence in Egypt’s leader. “So sad to hear of the terrorist attack in Egypt. U.S. strongly condemns. I have great....confidence that President (Abdel Fattah) will handle properly,” he said.

The first explosion Sunday that struck inside St. George church in the Nile Delta city of Tanta, killed at least 27 victims and injured 78, Egypt's Health Ministry said in a statement.

Hours later, 16 people were killed and 41 injured when a suicide bomber blew himself up at a security checkpoint outside St. Mark’s Cathedral in the coastal city of Alexandria.

A source said Coptic Pope Tawadros II was inside the church when the bombing took place but he was not injured.

The bombings occurred on Palm Sunday, a Christian feast that commemorates the entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem.

In December, 25 people were killed and scores of others injured when a bomb blast struck a church in central Cairo.

Coptic Christians are estimated at 8 - 10 percent of Egypt's population of about 90 million.