2011 Alexandria bombing

The Alexandria bombing was an attack on Coptic Christians carried out around midnight on 1 January 2011, in the Egyptian city of Alexandria. The attack resulted in the death of at least 21 Coptic Christians, with about 97 other injured victims.

The attack occurred when a bomb detonated in a car parked in front of the Coptic Orthodox church of Saint Mark and Pope Peter at the Sidi Bishr neighborhood in Alexandria. Later, an Interior Ministry statement on the official news agency declared that the attack was carried out by a suicide bomber and not as a result of a car explosion. The top cleric in Alexandria, Archbishop Arweis, said that the Egyptian government and security forces wanted to blame the massacre on a suicide bomber instead of a car bomb in order to write off the crime as something carried on by a lone attacker. He also denounced the lack of protection in front of the church, stating he was surprised to find only three soldiers and one officer guarding the church at such a sensitive time in spite of the recent numerous threats against Copts.

At the time of the blast, several thousand Coptic Christians were attending liturgy at the church at the occasion of the new year. The explosion resulted in scattered body parts, destroyed cars and smashed windows. 21 Coptic Christians were killed immediately following the explosion, and about 97 people – most of whom were Christians – were injured. Forensic testing confirmed that the explosive device used was homemade and contained nails and ball-bearings. The Interior Ministry stated that the bomb was filled with small pieces of metal to serve as shrapnel, and that a foreign-backed suicide bomber may have been responsible.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Alexandria_bombing