Egypt's Interior Ministry has sent a composite drawing of the man believed to be responsible for the New Year's Eve bombing of an Alexandria church to several state security agencies, including the Civil Affairs Authority, the Immigration Department and the Air and Seaports Authority, as well as all security directorates.
The ministry is also reportedly coordinating with Interpol to determine whether the drawing matches photos from an international database of suspected terrorists.
Sources at the ministry's forensics department, meanwhile, said that two feet found at the crime scene did not belong to the same person.
On Thursday, Coptic churches around the country began Coptic Christmas celebrations amid tight security. While most churches welcomed the government officials who came to offer condolences, the dioceses of Minya, Assiut and Naga Hammadi all declined to receive any officials.
The Assiut Diocese placed a large black banner, depicting the cross and the Egyptian flag, across its building facade.
Meanwhile, fresh threats to target churches and Coptic clergymen, allegedly made by an al-Qaeda affiliate, have led to yet more anxiety in Alexandria.
“Al-Qaeda specified four churches,” said Confessional Council Secretary Kamil Seddik. “They are the Anba Takla Church, the Mar Girgis Church in the Sporting district of Alexandria, the Mar Girgis Church in Agami and the the Saints Church.”
Seddik called on the Egyptian security services to deal seriously with the threats.
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
