Full article appears in ASIS Security Management Magazine.
At Saint George Church in Tanta, Egypt, the church was full. Scriptures were read. Songs were sung. Somewhere between welcome and amen, a bomb exploded—killing at least 25 people and wounding dozens of parishioners and members of the clergy.
Investigators reportedly believe, according to CNN and other media reports, that someone had placed an explosive device under a seat in the prayer hall. Exactly how the bomb was detonated is still unknown.
As emergency personnel were working to secure the scene at Saint George, a second attack occurred just outside of St. Mark Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in Alexandria, Egypt.
The church service had just ended and people were leaving the building when a man arrived wearing a zipped-up jacket with one hand in his pocket. A security officer denied the visitor access to the cathedral and referred him to the metal detector outside the church’s entrance.
The man can be seen on video talking with the officer and then walking towards the metal detector. He walked a few steps past it, turned, entered the metal detector frame, and detonated a bomb, killing at least 11 people—including three police officers—and wounding 35 others. The actions of the security officer and the use of the metal detector saved numerous lives that day.
Between the two attacks, 43 people died and approximately 100 were injured. ISIS claimed responsibility for both attacks and warned that there would be more attacks in the future against Christians, police, and the military, according to CNN.
However, these attacks left many questions unanswered. Details such as how the bombers picked their targets, whether they were working together, and what advance preparations they had made all remained a mystery.
Did the bombers choose these congregations based on the size of the facilities? It appears that the attackers selected a day in which they knew more people would be present at the churches, possibly in an attempt to create more terror and politicize them as an assault on Christianity. A similar attack at a Christian church in Alexandria on New Year’s Day in 2011 killed 21 and injured 96, according to The Telegraph. Christians have been targeted in several attacks in Egypt, which explains the enhanced security precautions in place on Palm Sunday in 2017.