Monday, Jan 03, 2011


   (From THE WALL STREET JOURNAL) 
   By Matt Bradley

CAIRO -- Egyptian authorities on Sunday rounded up people for questioning in connection with a weekend bombing that killed 21 outside a church in the northern port city of Alexandria.

The attack struck Christian worshippers as they were leaving midnight Mass early Saturday morning at the Church of Two Saints in Alexandria. Nearly 100 were injured.

On Sunday, government officials said they were still unsure whether the attack was a car bombing or was done by a suicide bomber with hand-carried explosives. It was the worst incident of sectarian violence in the country since 21 Christians were killed in a gunfight in the village of Al Kosheh in 2000.

The government blamed "foreign elements" for the attack, according to the Interior Ministry website. An Iraqi al Qaeda affiliate has targeted Christians in Iraq and called for attacks on Egypt's Coptic Christian community.

It wasn't clear how many people were detained.

Sectarian tensions between Muslims and Egypt's Christian community, which represents about 10% of the population, aren't uncommon. But deadly attacks are relatively rare. That could make Saturday's bombing -- especially if it is determined to have been inspired by al Qaeda -- a significant new challenge for 82-year-old President Hosni Mubarak, who faces a presidential race this fall.

Saturday's attack, which comes amid a recent uptick in sectarian tensions, could tarnish his party's reputation for maintaining domestic stability.

The attack triggered angry demonstrations by Christians, who at one point stormed a mosque across the street from the church, according to an Associated Press photographer at the scene. Saturday afternoon, angry Christian youths faced off at the site with Egyptian security forces, who responded with tear gas and rubber bullets.

"Today's attack is another reminder that this so-called stability that [Mubarak] achieved is extremely fragile," said Hossam Bahgat, general director of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, a Cairo-based advocacy organization.

Ruling-party officials played down the fallout from the attack. "In the immediate aftermath, some angry young Christian youth were angry and made some complaints," said Ali El Din Helal, information secretary for the NDP. "This is natural."

Following the Saturday attack, hundreds of protesters turned out to demonstrate in the largely Christian neighborhood of Shubra, outside the capital. Another Christian demonstration was held Sunday afternoon in Moqattam, a suburb. In a show of defiance Sunday, hundreds of Christians returned to pray in the Church of Two Saints.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

03-01-11 0346GMT