(CNSNews.com) - Islamic terrorists opened fire on a convoy of Coptic Christians in Egypt on Friday, killing at least 26 of them, including children, and injuring two dozen others, news reports said.
The attack comes at the beginning of Ramadan, Islam's holiest month.
"Pray for the families of the more than 26 Coptic Chrisians killed by gunmen in Egypt today. Many wounded," Evangelist Franklin Graham, the president of Samaritan's Purse, tweeted as details of the attack emerged.
According to the BBC:
Masked gunmen on Friday attacked two buses and a truck carrying Coptic Christians in Egypt, killing more than 20 people and wounding dozens, according to officials.
The attackers arrived in three pick-up trucks and opened fire on the vehicles carrying visitors to the Saint Samuel Monastery in the Minya province, about 220km south of the capital, Cairo, before fleeing the scene.
The interior ministry said at least 26 people were killed and 25 wounded in the attack.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility.
Pictures of a bus at the scene aired by state TV showed its windows shot out.
This is the latest in a series of attacks on Egypt's Coptic Christians, who comprise an estimated 10 percent of Egypt's population.
In December 2016, 25 were killed and 49 injured in an attack on a cathedral in Cairo. Last month, on Palm Sunday, a total of 44 were killed and more than 100 injured in attacks on two churches, one in Alexandria and one in Tanta.
In February, the ISIS affiliate in the Sinai released an online video threatening to cleanse Egypt of Christians, whom it described as “infidels” and accused of insulting Islam.
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