CAIRO — President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi said Monday that a suicide bomber was responsible for an attack that killed 24 worshipers at Cairo's Coptic cathedral complex during Sunday Mass as outrage grew among Egypt's Christian minority.

Speaking to hundreds of mourners at a state funeral, Sissi said that the bomber wore a vest packed with explosives and that four people suspected of aiding him had been arrested. Security forces were looking for two people with possible links to the attack, he said.

The country's interior ministry described the alleged bomber as a 22-year-old man from the town of Fayoum, 60 miles south of the capital, Cairo. It also released a picture of what it said was the bomber's head.

At least 49 people were wounded in the explosion at the Botrosiya Church, which is also known as the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul. The church is adjacent to St. Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral, the seat of the Coptic Pope Tawadros II.

The attack was the deadliest on Christians since a suicide bomber killed 23 congregants at a church in Alexandria on Jan. 1, 2011.

Health Ministry officials lowered the death toll by one, to 24, suggesting that the bomber had initially been counted among the victims. Many of the dead were women and children.

No group has claimed responsibility for the bombing, and Sissi did not name any suspected organizations as being involved. But the attack bore the hallmarks of Islamic extremists, including Egypt's Islamic State affiliate, who have been behind numerous attacks on soldiers, policemen and government officials, as well as Christians, across the country this year.

"The attack brought us great pain, but we will never be torn apart," Sissi told the mourners. "God willing, we will win this war."

Sissi, along with Pope Tawadros, led a procession in which soldiers carried the coffins, draped in the national flag, to the state funeral. Earlier, a service was held at the Virgin Mary and St. Athanasius Church in Cairo.

After praying over the coffins, Pope Tawadros sought to defuse the mounting anger among Christians, who make up 10 percent of the population. The community has long felt discriminated against by the country's Muslims, and successive authoritarian governments.

Attacks against Christians have spiked since the 2011 populist revolution that ousted President Hosni Mubarak, and especially after the military overthrew an elected Islamist government in 2013.

After the bombing Sunday, a crowd of Christians outside the cathedral angrily denounced the police and the government for not protecting them.

"This calamity is not against the church but against the homeland, against all of Egypt," Pope Tawadros told the mourners. "Those who commit acts such as this do not belong to Egypt at all, even if they are on its land."

On Monday, Sissi called for stricter anti-terrorism laws but dismissed public accusations that Egypt's security forces had not adequately protected the church.

Human rights activists urged the government to conduct a proper investigation of the bombing and to protect the Christian community as the holiday season approaches.

"Egypt's government needs to ensure immediate protection for the Coptic community, especially during the upcoming Christmas holiday," Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement. "The victims deserve a credible, transparent investigation that brings the perpetrators to justice and is crucial for ending such attacks."</s>Egyptian clergymen and officials carry the coffins of the victims of a church bombing in Cairo, on December 12, 2016. By Khaled DESOUKI (AFP)

Cairo (AFP) - Egypt said Monday it had arrested four people suspected of involvement in a devastating bombing on a Cairo Coptic church, as grief-stricken mourners gathered for the funeral of the 24 dead.

The bombing at the Saint Peter and Saint Paul Church on Sunday was the deadliest attack in recent memory on the Christian minority, who make up about 10 percent of Egypt's population.

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, speaking at the funeral for those killed, said the attack was carried out by a suicide bomber who had been identified as 22-year-old Mahmoud Shafik Mohamed Mostafa.

"He blew himself up inside the church" with an explosive belt, Sisi said.

One of the four people arrested was a woman, Sisi said, and authorities were looking for two other suspects he did not identify.

Speaking to the Coptic Church's pope, Tawadros II, during the funeral, Sisi said: "We would not have been able to come to you today, your holiness, before getting some information."

The health ministry on Monday released a new death toll of 24 killed in the bombing of the church, one more fatality than what was reported the previous day.

Most of the victims were women, authorities have said.

The attack occurred during Sunday service at the church adjacent to Saint Mark's Cathedral, the seat of Tawadros II.

There has been no claim of responsibility for the bombing but Coptic Christians have been previously targeted in Egypt.

Wooden coffins, each bearing a cross, were covered with the Egyptian flag and lined up at the Saint Mary and Saint Athanasius Coptic Orthodox Church in Nasr City district on Monday.

A woman who lost two daughters in the bombing cried and fell to the ground next to their coffins while other mourners prayed silently.

In the streets of Nasr City, Sisi and Tawadros led mourners dressed in black behind soldiers carrying the coffins of the victims.

Troops marched in unison to the sound of military music.

"This blow has caused us a lot of pain, but never will we let it break us," Sisi said.

Sunday's blast shattered windows and scattered pews through the interior of the church, scorching its marble pillars.

Security officials said they believed a bomb containing 12 kilos (26 pounds) of TNT appeared to have been the cause of the explosion.

It was the worst attack on the Coptic Christian community since a 2011 suicide bombing killed more than 20 worshippers outside a church in the coastal city of Alexandria.

Copts have faced persecution and discrimination dating back to the 30-year rule of Hosni Mubarak, who was toppled by a popular uprising in 2011.

Islamists in August 2013 attacked churches and homes of Copts in retaliation for the dispersal by security forces of Cairo protest camps set up by supporters of Mohamed Morsi, the Islamist president deposed by then-army chief Sisi.

In October 2011, almost 30 people -- mostly Coptic Christians -- were killed after the army charged at a protest in Cairo to denounce the torching of a church in southern Egypt.</s>CAIRO — The Egyptian government has released footage showing moments before, during and after the horrific Cairo church bombing that is also purported to show the man said to be the suicide bomber.

Sunday's attack, which killed two dozen people and which no militant group has claimed so far, left authorities scrambling to find those responsible. President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi on Monday identified the bomber as 22-year-old Mahmoud Shafiq Mohammed Mustafa.

The video is a recording of a CCTV footage and shows the street across from the chapel adjacent to St. Mark's Cathedral, seat of Egypt's ancient Coptic Orthodox Church, where the blast occurred.

It shows a dark figure crossing the street and walking through the gates of the church.

Moments later, the explosion sends dust and debris through the church windows.</s>Islamic State (Isis) has claimed responsibility for the deadly suicide bomb attack on the largest Christian church in Cairo. According to a statement circulating on social media on Tuesday (13 December), the terror group announced they were behind the attack that killed 25 people, including the bomber, and wounded a further 49 worshippers.

The bomb exploded on 11 December in a chapel adjoining St Mark's Cathedral, Cairo's largest church and the seat of the Coptic papacy. Although security is usually tight, Egyptian officials say that a bomb containing at least 12 kg of TriNitroToluene (TNT) exploded on a side of the church normally used by women.

In the statement, the extremists say they killed and wounded nearly 80 "crusaders" and warn "disbelievers and apostates in #Egypt and everywhere". They add that they plan to "continue to spill their blood and grill their bodies".

They identified the suicide bomber as Abu Abdallah al-Masri, who is said to have detonated his explosive belt inside the church after sidestepping normally stringent security.

"Every infidel and apostate in Egypt and everywhere should know that our war continues," the group said in the statement, published by the Isis-affiliated Amaq news agency.

Egyptian authorities had earlier named Mahmoud Shafik Mohammed Mostafa, 22, whose nom-de-guerre was Abu Dajjana al-Kanani, from the town of Fayyoum south of Cairo, as the suicide bomber. Isis made no reference to him in their statement

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, speaking at a state funeral for the victims, said that four people had been detained, including a woman, and security forces were seeking two more people believed to be involved.

He said "The attack brought us great pain but we will never be torn apart," according to Reuters. "We will only be much stronger. We will hold steadfast and, God willing, we will succeed."

The Egyptian state news agency for the Middle East and North Africa​ (MENA) reported that three of those arrested were from Fayyoum while a fourth is from Cairo suburb Matariya. Both areas are associated with strong support for the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood party.

On the same day. six policemen were killed and three others injured in Cairo when a bomb exploded at a police checkpoint on a road leading to the Giza pyramids.

This would not be the first time that Isis has targeted the Christian sect, in February 2015, Isis circulated images of their militants executing 21 Coptic Christians who had been kidnapped from Sirte, Libya. In response Egypt launched air strikes targeting Isis positions.

Approximately 10% of the Egyptian population are Coptic Christians. The Church has around one million members outside Egypt. It has a cathedral under construction in the UK, in Birmingham.</s>Egyptian clergymen and officials carry the coffins of the victims of a church bombing in Cairo, on December 12, 2016. By Khaled DESOUKI (AFP)

Cairo (AFP) - Egypt said Monday it had arrested four people suspected of involvement in a devastating bombing of a Cairo Coptic church, as grief-stricken mourners gathered for the funeral of the 24 dead.

The bombing at the Saint Peter and Saint Paul Church on Sunday was the deadliest attack in recent memory on the Christian minority, who make up about 10 percent of Egypt's population.

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, speaking at the funeral, said the attack was carried out by a suicide bomber who had been identified as 22-year-old Mahmoud Shafik Mohamed Mostafa.

One of the four people arrested was a woman, Sisi said, and authorities were looking for two other suspects he did not identify.

Most of the victims were women, authorities have said.

The attack occurred during Sunday service at the church adjacent to Saint Mark's Cathedral, the seat of Coptic Pope Tawadros II.

There has been no claim of responsibility for the bombing, but Coptic Christians have been previously targeted in Egypt.

Wooden coffins, each bearing a cross, were covered with the country's flag and lined up at the Saint Mary and Saint Athanasius Coptic Orthodox Church in the Nasr City district on Monday.

A woman who lost two daughters in the attack cried and fell to the ground next to their coffins as other mourners prayed silently.

In the streets of Nasr City, Sisi and Tawadros led mourners dressed in black behind soldiers carrying the coffins of the victims.

Troops marched to the sound of military music.

"This blow has caused us a lot of pain, but never will we let it break us," Sisi said.

Pope Tawadros II said: "We are hurting from this evil."

Sunday's blast was the worst attack on the Coptic Christian community since a 2011 suicide bombing killed more than 20 worshippers outside a church in the coastal city of Alexandria.

Copts have faced persecution and discrimination dating back to the 30-year rule of Hosni Mubarak, who was toppled by a popular uprising in 2011.

After the 2013 ouster of Muslim Brotherhood president Mohamed Morsi, his Islamist supporters accused the Christian community of supporting his overthrow.

They pointed to the appearance of Tawadros next to Sisi in July 2013, when the then army chief -- also surrounded by Muslim and opposition figures -- announced Morsi's removal on television.

Following the deadly dispersal by security forces of two pro-Morsi protest camps in Cairo in August 2013, at least 42 churches were attacked, as well as dozens of schools, houses and businesses belonging to Copts, according to Human Rights Watch.

"Egypt's authorities have for many years failed to protect the personal safety or basic rights of Coptic citizens," HRW said on Monday.

Analysts said Sunday's bombing revealed the weaknesses of the government, which human rights groups have slammed for its brutal crackdown on Islamists.

Victor Salama, a politics professor at Cairo University, said the attack could be in retaliation for the church's perceived support for Sisi's administration.

The Islamists "could be saying they're making the Copts pay for their support for the ouster of the Muslim Brotherhood," said Salama.

"It's a slap for the government. The Coptic church is Christian of course, but it's also an Egyptian institution that was easily destroyed with just 12 kilogrammes of explosives," said Salama.

Abdalla al-Sennawi, a columnist at the privately owned Al-Shorouk newspaper, agreed that the attack could be seen as "a sort of revenge" against the Copts.

But the bombing also "reveals the absence of any real strategy to fight terrorism and the carelessness of the security services", he said.

"Such attacks may repeat themselves if the role of security services is not reviewed."

Egypt is fighting a jihadist insurgency that has killed hundreds of policemen and soldiers.

On Friday, two bombings killed six policemen in Cairo and a civilian north of the capital in attacks claimed by the Hassam militant group.

Hazem Hosni, a politics professor at Cairo university, said: "The objective of this attack will be truly known only if the perpetrators of the attack are identified or if they claim it."

Sunday's bombing "will have great international impact because those targeted are Christians", he said.

Egypt has jailed thousands and sentenced hundreds of Islamists to death since Morsi's ouster.</s>Relatives of a Christian woman who was killed in the bombing of Cairo’s main Coptic cathedral, carry her body to bury at the Mokattam Cemetery in Cairo, Egypt, on Monday (Reuters photo)

CAIRO — Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi said on Monday a suicide bomber carried out the attack that killed 24 people at Cairo's Coptic cathedral, the deadliest on the Christian minority in years.

Speaking at a state funeral for the victims, Sisi noted four people had been detained, including a woman, and security forces were seeking two more people believed to be involved. The bomber was a man wearing a suicide vest, he added

"The attack brought us great pain but we will never be torn apart," he said. "We will only be much stronger. We will hold steadfast and, God willing, we will succeed."

At least 24 people were killed and 49 wounded when a bomb exploded in a chapel adjoining St Mark's Cathedral, Cairo's largest church and seat of the Coptic papacy, where security is normally tight.

Security sources said a bomb containing at least 12kg of TNT exploded on a side of the church normally used by women.

Sisi did not name the organisation the attackers were believed to belong to. No group has claimed responsibility, but exiled Muslim Brotherhood officials and local militant groups have joined the international community in condemnation.

Only Daesh supporters celebrated on social media. The group has also claimed attacks in Cairo and urged its supporters to launch attacks around the world as it goes on the defensive in its Iraqi and Syrian strongholds.

The interior ministry released a picture of the bomber it identified as Mahmoud Shafik Mohamed Mostafa, 22, whose nom de guerre was Abu Dajjana Al Kanani. It also released an image of what it said was the battered head of the dead bomber, who hailed from the town of Fayyoum south of Cairo.

State news agency MENA reported that three of those arrested are also from Fayyoum while a fourth is from the Cairo suburb of Matariya. Both are areas typically associated with strong support for the Muslim Brotherhood. 

 Sisi and Coptic Pope Tawadros II led the funeral procession and the coffins were draped in the national flag.

Earlier, mourners had packed Cairo’s Virgin Mary and St Athanasius Church where Tawadros prayed over the wooden coffins. On the walls hung banners with the names of the dead, many of them women.

Tawadros sought to heal any sectarian friction caused by the attack, saying it “is not just a disaster for the church but a disaster for the whole nation”. He also condemned attacks against the security forces.

“Those who commit acts such as this do not belong to Egypt at all, even if they are on its land,” he said.</s>Egyptians gather outside the Saint Peter and Saint Paul Coptic Orthodox Church in Cairo on December 11, 2016 (AFP Photo/MOHAMED METEAB)

Cairo (AFP) - The Coptic Christians were in mid-prayer Sunday when the ear-splitting blast tore through their church in Egypt's capital, spraying shrapnel into icon-covered walls and blowing out the tiled roof.

Witnesses said the smoke then cleared to reveal a tangle of splintered pews and body parts.

"It was terrifying. Things were falling down on us. I couldn't get down from behind the altar because of the smoke," said church volunteer Tadros Zaki, 63.

"There were too many people. Destroyed, in pieces... people on top of people," said Romany, who rushed to the church to help after the bombing.

The health ministry said 23 people were killed and 49 wounded.

The focal point of the explosion at the Saint Peter and Saint Paul Church appeared to have been just inside the entrance, on the side where the women sat.

A woman's scarf, drenched in congealing blood, lay in the wreckage.

The stone recess above the door was peppered with shrapnel which also left holes in the marble floor. A pew that remained upright was soaked in blood.

Two nearby boxes, one that had been filled with written prayers left by worshippers and another that held a saint's relics, were destroyed.

Dazed priests paced the arcaded courtyard, pieces of stained glass from the church's windows crunching underfoot, as guards at the doors blocked a crush of journalists and concerned faithful.

One nun in a grey habit stared pensively at the wreckage.

"God will have a say in this," she decided.

Bishop Angaelos, the General Bishop for the Coptic Orthodox Church in Britain, told AFP by telephone that Saint Peter's church was especially popular with parishioners.

It is "deeply loved by many Coptic faithful in Cairo and it has a regular parish presence", he said.

"The fact that they were targeted this way when they were going to pray is beyond comprehension."

Copts have been attacked before in Egypt, most notably in a suicide bombing that killed more than 20 congregants at an Alexandria church in 2011.

But Saturday's attack hit close to the heart of the beleaguered minority's faith.

The church is adjacent to Saint Mark's Cathedral, the seat of the Coptic Christian papacy.

"What are we to do? God will dispense our affairs," said Magdy, a church administrator whose office is at the other end of the courtyard from the blast site.

The explosion shattered his office windows, leaving his desk strewn with shards of glass.

Outside, a growing crowd of Copts began chanting against the government, and there were brief scuffles with riot police who cordoned off the scene.

"The people want the downfall of the regime!" they chanted. "Hey, interior ministry! Where were you when they bombed the cathedral?"

Copts, who make up about 10 percent of Egypt's 90 million people, have suffered repeated attacks for decades.

They also attracted the wrath of Islamist extremists after the church, along with Muslim religious leaders, supported the military overthrow of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013.

Mobs attacked scores of churches and Christian properties in August 2013 after police in Cairo killed hundreds of Islamists protesting against Morsi's overthrow.</s>Speaking at a state funeral for the victims, Sisi said four people had been detained, including a woman, and security forces were seeking two more people believed to be involved.

Sisi, who said the bomber was a man wearing a suicide vest, said: "The attack brought us great pain but we will never be torn apart. We will only be much stronger. We will hold steadfast and, God willing, we will succeed."

At least 24 people were killed and 49 wounded when a bomb exploded in a chapel adjoining St Mark's Cathedral, Cairo's largest church and seat of the Coptic papacy, where security is normally tight.

Security sources said the blast was caused by a bomb containing at least 12 kg (26 pounds) of TNT detonated on a side of the church normally used by women.

Sisi did not name the organization the attackers were believed to belong to. No group has claimed responsibility, but exiled Muslim Brotherhood officials and local militant groups have joined the international community in condemnation. Only Islamic State supporters celebrated on social media.

Sisi is fighting battles on several fronts. His economic reforms have angered the poor, a crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood has seen thousands jailed and an insurgency rages in Northern Sinai, led by Islamic State's Egyptian branch.

The group has also claimed attacks in Cairo and urged its supporters to launch attacks around the world as it goes on the defensive in its Iraqi and Syrian strongholds.

The Interior Ministry released a picture of the bomber it identified as Mahmoud Shafik Mohamed Mostafa, 22, from the town of Fayyoum, whose nom de guerre was Abu Dajjana al-Kanani. It also released an image of what it said was the dead bomber's battered head.

Egypt held a state funeral for the victims on Monday, with coffins draped in the national flag carried in a procession led by Sisi and Coptic Pope Tawadros II.

Earlier, mourners had packed Cairo's Virgin Mary and St Athanasius Church where Pope Tawadros prayed over the wooden coffins. On the walls, hung banners bearing the names of the dead, many of them women.

Speaking at the end of the service, Tawadros sought to heal any sectarian friction caused by the attack, saying it "is not just a disaster for the church but a disaster for the whole nation." He also condemned attacks against the security forces.

"Those who commit acts such as this do not belong to Egypt at all, even if they are on its land," he said.

At the chapel where the bombing took place, survivors described searching for the body parts of loved ones. The chapel's floor was covered in debris from shattered windows, its wooden pews blasted apart, its pillars blackened. Here and there lay abandoned shoes and patches of blood. Dazed church officials wondered around in black robes.

Though Christians traditionally support the government, the church attack provoked anger among survivors and the families of the dead, who said police had failed to protect them.

Five survivors at Dar al-Shefa hospital said police did not conduct the usual checks as the cathedral was particularly busy for Sunday's mass, which took place on a public holiday marking the Prophet Mohammad's birthday, just weeks before Christmas.

"There were large numbers so people entered without being searched," said Mina Francis, who was at the mass with his mother, who was killed.

Crowds outside the cathedral on Sunday demanded revenge. Scuffles broke out as protesters accused police of security failures. Some chanted "the people demand the fall of the regime", the rallying cry of the 2011 revolt that ended Hosni Mubarak's 30-year rule.

"There were police cars stationed in front of the church gates ... they were too busy eating breakfast and drinking tea and soda. They weren’t doing their job," said Hani Gaballah, 43, a retired military officer.

Sisi dismissed accusations of a security failure. He called for tighter anti-terrorism laws to help crush militants, in a country where Egyptians already face restrictive protest laws.

"We will not let this go even after we have arrested them," Sisi said.

Orthodox Copts, who comprise about 10 percent of Egypt's 90 million people, are the Middle East's biggest Christian community. They face regular attack by Muslim neighbors, who burn their homes and churches in poor rural areas, usually in anger over an inter-faith romance or church construction.

The last major attack on a church took place as worshippers left a New Year's service in Alexandria weeks before the start of the 2011 uprising. At least 21 people were killed. The circumstances remain a mystery and no one was punished.

Middle Eastern Christians have felt increasingly insecure since Islamic State spread through Iraq and Syria in 2014, ruthlessly targeting religious minorities.</s>CAIRO — The young man suspected of blowing himself up inside a Cairo chapel during Sunday Mass, killing at least 25 people, had been arrested and beaten by police two years ago after allegedly taking part in an Islamist demonstration, his lawyer said Monday.

If independently confirmed, Mahmoud Shafiq Mohammed Mustafa would be the latest Egyptian to be radicalized after being subjected to police abuse, a practice that was common for decades and has become rampant after a crackdown on dissent following the military's 2013 ouster of an Islamist president.

Speaking after a state funeral for the victims, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi said the suspect detonated a belt of explosives inside a chapel adjacent to St. Mark's Cathedral, seat of Egypt's ancient Coptic Orthodox Church. The over 100-year-old chapel was packed with worshippers.

The dead included more than 20 women and children. Forty-nine others were injured, according to the latest figures from the Health Ministry.

Mahmoud Hassan, one of Musafa's lawyers, said his client, who was 16 at the time of his arrest, was tortured until he confessed to the possession of weapons and explosions. He also faced charges of membership in an "illegal organization," Egyptian parlance for the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamist group of which former President Mohammed Morsi was a senior official.

The Interior Ministry said late Monday that Mustafa belonged to a terrorist cell founded by an Egyptian doctor and funded by Muslim Brotherhood leaders living in exile in Qatar, long accused by Egypt of supporting militants groups. It said the cell was tasked with staging attacks that would lead to sectarian Muslim-Christian strife.

After his arrest, Musafa spent nearly two months in detention before being released on bail. A court later convicted him in absentia, according to the lawyer. Traumatized by the torture, he told his lawyer not to appeal, fearing he would be abused again if detained.

A police photo of Mustafa and a friend arrested on the same day showed the pair, clearly in their teens, with bleeding noses and bruised faces. Placed atop a coffee table in front of them was a rifle, ammunition and what appeared to be a homemade bomb.

Hassan insisted that Mustafa was not a member of the Brotherhood, but the young Egyptian student from the oasis province of Fayoum appears to have been radicalized by his experience in detention, a danger many Egyptian rights activists warn the government against. The activists seek freedom for anyone not involved in acts of violence.

Two local news websites on Monday quoted Mustafa's mother as saying he had not been home in two years.

No one has so far claimed responsibility for Sunday's bombing. Two active militant groups believed to have links to the Muslim Brotherhood — Hasm and Liwa el-Thawra — distanced themselves from the attack. The local affiliate of the Islamic State group has so far remained silent.

Sunday's bombing was among the deadliest attacks in recent memory to target Egypt's Coptic minority, which makes up around 10 percent of the country's population and strongly supported the el-Sissi-led military overthrow of Morsi, Egypt's first freely elected president whose one year in office proved to be divisive.

Since then, Islamic militants have carried out scores of attacks, mainly targeting the security forces, while the government has waged a wide-scale crackdown on dissent.

Mustafa raised suspicions when, according to footage from a security camera, he hurriedly entered the chapel wearing a bulging jacket, prompting one security guard to follow him. About 10 seconds later, Mustafa blew himself up.

The guard who followed him was killed, said Khaled Diaa-Eldeen, who leads a team of prosecutors investigating Sunday's attack.

Three men and a woman were arrested in connection with Sunday's attack and other suspects were on the run, el-Sissi said.

The president did not link the bomber to any militant groups, but a top Interior Ministry official appeared to confirm a key part of the account given by Mustafa's lawyer. Police Maj. Gen. Tarek Attia told The Associated Press the suspected bomber was arrested in Fayoum in 2014 and charged with membership in the Brotherhood.

"This strike really hurt us and caused us much pain, but it will not break us," el-Sissi said.

He also called on the government and parliament to introduce legislation that would allow more "decisive" methods of dealing with militants. He did not elaborate. Lawmakers and pro-government media have been promoting the referral of terrorism-related cases to military tribunals, which are notorious for their swift and harsh sentences.

During the funeral, coffins were wrapped in Egyptian flags and carried by military policemen. The service was attended by top government and military officials and guarded by hundreds of soldiers. Earlier on Monday, the Coptic community held its own funeral service at a suburban church.

"God, protect us and your people from the conspiracies of the evil ones," Pope Tawadros II, spiritual leader of Egypt's Orthodox Christians, prayed after waving incense over coffins lined up in front of the altar along with crosses made of white roses. "It is the destiny of our church to offer martyrs."

Only victims' relatives were allowed to attend the service at the Virgin Mary and St. Athanasius Church in the eastern Cairo suburb of Nasr City. Outside the church, a crowd of several hundred protesters scuffled with security forces when they were barred from attending the service.

"People have a volcano of anger inside their chests," said Nora Sedki, a Christian government employee who joined the demonstration.

"The blood of our brothers is dear," chanted the protesters, who carried Egyptian flags and crosses made of tree branches.

Soon after Morsi's 2013 ouster, his supporters lashed out at Christians, ransacking and destroying scores of churches and Christian-owned properties in southern Egypt, where sectarian tensions are more pronounced.

Successive Egyptian governments insist that Christians are not discriminated against, but many claim they have been denied top jobs, including in academia and in security and diplomatic services. They say it is the result of deeply rooted bias by the country's Muslim majority.

Christians have also accused the security forces of failing to do enough to protect them from Muslim extremists.

Associated Press Writer Mariam Fam contributed to this report.</s>Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Didier Reynders strongly condemns the hateful attack committed today in a Coptic church in Cairo. His thoughts are with the families of the victims. He presents his condolences to the Egyptian authorities and people. Egypt's diversity is part of its richness and Didier Reynders is profoundly shocked by this attack on civilians, killed for their belief.

Didier Reynders will be able to reconfirm our sympathy and support during his upcoming visit to Cairo for the meeting of the European Union and the Arab Ligue.
The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant claims responsibility for the Egyptian Coptic Church bombing in Cairo that claimed 25 lives on 11 December.