Two churches packed with Coptic worshipers have been bombed in Egypt, killing more than 45 people and leaving dozens wounded.
The first blast struck St George church in Tanta, a city north of the capital, Cairo. Then a suicide bomber struck outside the main Coptic church in Alexandria, St Mark’s Cathedral, where Pope Tawadros II had led the service.
Worshippers had been celebrating Palm Sunday, one of the holiest days in the Christian calendar.
The bombings come just a few weeks before Pope Francis is due to visit Egypt.
They 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.
What is the Egyptian government doing to protect the Christian minority?
