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Updated 19.31
THE ISLAMIC STATE group has claimed responsibility for bombing two Egyptian churches as worshippers gathered to mark Palm Sunday, killing at least 44 people in the deadliest attacks on the Coptic Christian minority in recent memory.
The attacks followed a Cairo church bombing in December and came weeks ahead of a planned visit by Catholic Pope Francis intended to show support for the country’s Christian minority.
The first bombing struck the Mar Girgis church in the city of Tanta north of Cairo, killing 27 people, the health ministry said.
“I just felt fire grabbing my face. I pushed my brother who was sitting next to me and then I heard people saying: ‘explosion’,” one of the wounded told state television.
Emergency services had scrambled to the scene when another bombing rocked the Saint Mark’s church in Alexandria where Coptic Pope Tawadros II had been leading a Palm Sunday service.
Seventeen people including at least four police officers were killed in that attack, which the interior ministry said was caused by a suicide bomber who blew himself up when prevented from entering the church.
The ministry said Tawadros was unharmed, and a church official said he had left the church before the bombing.
The private CBC Extra channel aired footage of the Alexandria blast, with CCTV showing what appeared to be the church entrance engulfed in flame and flying concrete moments after a guard turned away a man.
Eyewitnesses said a police officer detected the bomber before he blew himself up.
At least 78 people were wounded in Tanta and another 40 wounded in Alexandria, the health ministry said.
A UN Security Council statement condemned the bombings as “heinous” and “cowardly”.
Egyptian officials denounced the violence as an attempt to sow divisions in the country, while Francis sent his “deep condolences” to Tawadros.
Egyptian officials denounced the violence as an attempt to sow divisions, and Francis sent his “deep condolences” to Tawadros.
IS claimed two Egyptian suicide bombers carried out both attacks and threatened further attacks in a statement published on social media.
After the bombings, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi ordered military deployments to guard “vital and important infrastructure”, his office said.
State television reported that the interior minister sacked the provincial head of security and replaced him after the attack.
On March 29, the Mar Girgis church’s Facebook page said a “suspicious” device had been found outside the building that security services removed.
“I heard the blast and came running. I found people torn up… some people, only half of their bodies remained,” Nabil Nader, who lives in front of the Tanta church, said Sunday.
Worshippers had been celebrating Palm Sunday, one of the holiest days in the Christian calendar, marking Jesus’s triumphant entrance to Jerusalem.
Pope prays for victims
Pope Francis, who is due in Cairo on 28 April, offered prayers for the victims.
“Let us pray for the victims of the attack unfortunately carried out today,” he said.
May the Lord convert the heart of those who sow terror, violence and death and also the heart of those who make weapons and trade in them.
Copts, who make up about one tenth of Egypt’s population of more than 92 million and who celebrate Easter next weekend, have been targeted by several attacks in recent months.
Jihadists and Islamists accuse Copts of supporting the military overthrow of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013, which ushered in a deadly crackdown on his supporters.
In December, a suicide bombing claimed by IS killed 29 worshippers in a Cairo church.
The group later released a video threatening Egypt’s Christians with more attacks.
A spate of jihadist-linked attacks in the restive Sinai Peninsula, including the murder of a Copt in the city of El Arish, led some Coptic families to flee.
About 250 Christians took refuge in the Suez Canal city of Ismailiya after IS in February called for attacks on the minority.
US President Donald Trump led international condemnation of today’s attacks.
“So sad to hear of the terrorist attack in Egypt. US strongly condemns. I have great confidence that President Al Sisi will handle situation properly,” he tweeted.
String of attacks
Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail stressed the authorities’ determination to “eliminate terrorism”.
The Cairo-based Al-Azhar, an influential Sunni Muslim authority, said the attacks aimed to “destabilise security and… the unity of Egyptians”.
Egypt’s Copts have endured successive attacks since Morsi’s ousting in July 2013.
More than 40 churches were targeted nationwide in the two weeks after the deadly dispersal by security forces of two pro-Morsi protest camps in Cairo on August 14 that year, Human Rights Watch said.
Sisi, who as then army chief helped remove Morsi, has defended his security forces and accused jihadists of attacking Copts in order to divide the country.
In October 2011, almost 30 people – mostly Coptic Christians – were killed outside the state television building in Cairo after the army charged at protesters denouncing the torching of a church in southern Egypt.
A few months earlier, the unclaimed New Year’s Day bombing of a Coptic church killed more than 20 people in second city Alexandria.
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At least someone has a bit of foresight
What is foresight about it, they are charging through the nose for it? Supply, demand, return on investment, this is business not foresight.
John
They charge slightly higher than private rent however many in private rent must also pay for the 3 summer months and it more lees balances out.
That’s wrong, though. UCD can lease them out to non-students and still make money. Why charge more than the going rate? That would just eat up what students save on commuting.
6000 for a college year, 650 quid a month for a single room? Going rate? Me asre. It depends on your definition of ‘slightly’…. I’d call that significantly…..
If they charge more than the going rate, nobody will stay there, so they’ll have to lower their charges until they reach the going rate.
Not s bit if foresight here!! Galway and limerick have no shortage of accommodation! Never an issue!
Most of UCDs new student accommodation will be used by non EU students paying tens of thousands in fees!
So colleges are now into real estate?
Ye might look like they’re doing the right thing but charging extortionate rates that students can’t really afford is no solution to the problem.
The students are free to look for accommodation in the private rental market, if that is cheaper. Someone i doubt it will be cheaper.
UCD well known for extortionate fines for minor infactions and have gotten in bother over surveillance camera placement. If I was a student there college accommodation would be an absolute last resort
Some will be able to afford it which will make other properties vacant. They won’t sit there empty.
Fred. It’s great to see you sticking up for investors using the housing crisis to line their pockets. Following in the tradition of William Martin Murphy.
I’ve got some great memories from living in the shitty digs in Belgrove! Don’t need ‘world-class’ apartments, just something affordable, safe and warm!
You’re aware we’re in the middle of a housing crisis right?
Talk about finding the negative in everything…
Carl. and people will always find a way to take advantage of others misery, these places will be just a cash cow for investors. That’s the way it is here. Nothing to do with helping irish people but everything to do with fleecing them. Remember we don’t live in the rep of Ireland we live in Ireland Inc a great little place to do business in if your a vulture capitalist.
If it weren’t for the investors “taking advantage” they wouldn’t be getting built in the first place, leaving strain on the current rental market.
Making it profitable for people to build housing is exactly what will get us out of the housing crisis, not expecting people to just shell out their money to “help Irish people”. That’s not going to happen.
Not quite. Ireland has forgotten the basis of all social and civic housing. That is affordable housing provides a sustainable and cost effective labour force, creating affordable things and services people can buy. Currently this freemarket winner takes all which trickles down approach has failed as we are funding to our ’8 billion in interest’ cost… What we require is building for a strong social asset base, then the rest of the market is just icing on the cake for those who want to play with spare cash..
Actually it’s investors that got Ireland into the trouble were in originally or have you forgotton. So if private investors building houses is the panacea for the homeless and people struggling to pay huge mortgages and rent why isn’t it working? Is your plan more of the same. Your argument is seriously flawed but not only as a theory but equally in reality.
Many happy memories of Merville and Belgrove back in the day! Loved living on campus in UCD!
That will be perfect.we will jst send all our homeless back to college
3000 extra students , that’s an awful lot of riding. Set up a stall selling pot noodles and Johnies and you’ll take it in.
They opened new apartments costing over €8000 for 9 months. When will they build affordable accommodation??
Lorraine; one should go to WIT or the likes for that…
Lorraine> You are dead right. The colleges charge much more than the going rate for accomadation. They always have and make money off it.
Proposed 6000+ housed when complete = 50M Smackeroonies for accommodation ONLY , not too bad an investment by UCD
Pity these could ha e not been built years ago, recession building prices and kept a few hundred builders from signing on the dole,
This would pay for itself in 6-7 years at current rates per college year (not taking into account summer rental to tourists and forwign language students)
Cost per student €100,000 (sounds high). Income about €8,000 repairs and maintenance 20%, €1600 which leaves €6,400. Take 16years to pay it back. Summer rental might turn a mediocre investment into a good one
all well and good if ya got the space. UCD is full of lads from Mayo
Education is obviously a very profitable business.
So 300’000’000 euro for 3000 students
100’000 euro for accommodation per one student
Bogummilm they are not disposable apartments.
No it’s a fair point. They have 4 students sharing an apartment / kitchen area, so that’s 400k per apartment? What sort of luxury are we talking about here. And the land is already owned.
It pity the could not build higher even if was substituted by the government (Tax payers) on condition rent on private property would be caped and would be given 1st to none students and then to students who cant get on campus accommodation. A lot of campus would have the space for high rise and would make better use of the land they own. Where I live there is 5 tower blocks 20 stories high opposite us whether it sunny or cloudy day they don’t effect mine or neighbors lives or enjoyment. This would free up a lot of property.
300 million for 3000 rooms. That’s 100,000 per room. Well done to the developer a who wins this project.
Has planning permission been granted for 6 high rise apartment blocks on the Quays each with 100 apartments?
If not then why not?
More accommodation to house students who spend more time drinking than studying. What a joke college is. And what a joke building these are as well.
Damn right. What good has education ever done for us?
Maybe they will do a Stanford university on it.
I sincerely hope the students are good at math, and realise that there is €100,000 spent on each one of them
8000+ for 9 month
have your say