At least 36 people were killed and more than 100 injured in bomb attacks on two Coptic churches on Palm Sunday (April 9), in the latest assault on a religious minority increasingly targeted by Islamist militants. <br /> <br />Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attacks, which come a week before Easter and in the same month that Pope Francis is scheduled to visit Egypt. <br /> <br />The first bombing, in Tanta, a Nile Delta city less than 100 kilometres outside Cairo, killed at least 25 and injured at least 78, Egypt's Ministry of Health said. <br /> <br />The second, carried out just a few hours later by a suicide bomber in Alexandria, hit the historic seat of the Coptic Pope, killing 11, including three police officers, and injuring 35, the ministry added. <br /> <br />Pope Tawadros, who had attended mass at Saint Mark's Cathedral, was still in the building at the time of the explosion but was not harmed, the Ministry of Interior said. <br /> <br />The bombings come as Islamic State's branch in Egypt appears to be stepping up attacks and threats against Christians.
