Iran Condemns Deadly Attacks on Egypt Churches

In a message on Sunday, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi expressed condolences to the Egyptian government and nation over deaths in the “heinous crime.”

Iran decisively condemns any assault against religious sites, congregations, and ordinary and defenseless people with any purpose, the spokesman noted.

“Such criminal moves are designed and carried as part of attempts to foment religious sedition and create horror and division among followers of major celestial religions,” he deplored, stressing that such plots would be thwarted by cooperation and consultation among the regional governments and nations.

At least 27 people were killed in an explosion inside a church in the Egyptian Nile Delta city of Tanta on Sunday, as another blast killed 16 in front of a church in the coastal city of Alexandria.

Daesh (ISIL, also known as ISIS) terrorist group claimed responsibility for both attacks, saying they were carried out by two of its fighters wearing suicide vests.

The bombings were the latest in a series of assaults on Egypt’s Christian minority, who make up about 10 percent of the population and have been repeatedly targeted by armed groups.