MINYA, Egypt _ Islamic State claimed responsibility for an attack on a bus loaded with Coptic Christians the day before near the southern city of Minya, which officials said killed 29 people.
"A security team of caliphate soldiers set up an ambush for dozens of Christians as they headed to the church of St. Samuel," the militant group said Saturday through Amaq, its media arm.
The bus passengers were shot to death on their way to volunteer at a monastery. Twenty-five other Coptic Christians were wounded.
Friday's attack, on the eve of the Muslim holiday of Ramadan, led Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi to launch airstrikes on what officials said were militant training camps in the northeastern Libyan city of Derna. El-Sissi, a former general, said the gunmen had trained and planned the attack in Libyan camps, although Islamic State has not controlled Derna for two years.
In a Saturday phone call, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry told U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson that officials found "information and evidence that terrorist elements involved in the Minya incident trained in these camps," a statement said.
The military strikes did little to reassure Coptic Christians in Minya, a city on the banks of the Nile about 140 miles south of Cairo where about 40 percent of the population is Christian � four times the percentage of the Muslim country's population of 92 million. They have watched with dread this year as Islamic State militants advanced from strongholds in northern Sinai south beyond the capital.
"This is not an isolated incident, it's an evolution of a problem," said Bishop Anba Makarios, the leader of Coptic Christians in Minya. "It is difficult to target Copts in churches because they have security and cameras. And in their homes, they live next to Muslims. So the new method is a way to get them alone: They pick a desert road in the heart of the mountain with no checkpoints or rest stops or anything on it so they can target only Copts."
Many of Minya's 2 million Christians have felt threatened by local Muslim extremists for years. The Egyptian government historically provided security for the Christian minority, but that dwindled in the final years of longtime president Hosni Mubarak's rule and seemed to disappear after he was replaced in 2012 by Islamist President Mohamed Morsi. Attacks on churches, led by groups of Islamist extremists, surged.
When el-Sissi ousted Morsi the following year, Coptic Christians were among his staunchest supporters. El-Sissi became the first Egyptian leader to attend Coptic Christmas services in Cairo two years ago, and was cheered by the crowd. He returned to comfort victims of an Islamic State suicide bombing that killed 29 people in a chapel beside St. Mark's Cathedral in December. Islamic State declared a campaign against the country's Christians soon after, and when twin church bombings killed 47 on Palm Sunday, el-Sissi declared a three-month state of emergency, vowing to protect them.
But in Minya, residents said their compact with el-Sissi has failed as they face repeated attacks on the streets, their houses are burned and hate graffiti scrawled on the walls of their churches.is
More than a hundred Christians have been killed in the Minya area in the past year, Makarios said. A year ago this month, an elderly Christian woman was stripped by an angry Muslim mob that believed her son was having an affair with a Muslim woman. The following July, another Christian was stabbed to death by a mob. Tensions increased so much that before Easter, Coptic leaders announced they would curtail celebrations to avoid further clashes.
Makarios blames groups like the Family House. Formed to resolve conflicts through tribal negotiations, he said they usually allow Muslim extremists to avoid criminal prosecution by intimidating Coptic minorities into accepting settlements instead.
"The Family House concept needs to be reviewed," he said. "It needs to have a clear role and a clear separation from other authorities. ... Reconciliation committees are fine only after the law has been enforced."
He noted that the government has also been unwilling to allow Copts to open new churches, often on security grounds. In the Minya bishopric, which has a hundred churches, 150 villages have no churches.
Yacoub Malak, a local Coptic priest who helped with funeral services Saturday at Virgin Mary Church, said they have been trying to open another house of worship in a nearby village for 15 years. The day it was due to open in 2002, worshipers were attacked by extremists, who broke the door and windows and ripped up the holy books.
"From this time until now we can't pray in the church. They prevent us," he said. "It's an Islamic country."
Another priest at the church, Elishaa Lewis, said he tried to open a church in another nearby village, but was initially told it could not be more than a single story, feature minarets or a cross. Worshipers agreed, but two months ago, the local governor still refused them. "It's unfair. We need to pray. We need a church," Lewis said, adding that the federal government offers limited protection.
"Sissi can't do everything," he said.
Makarios said the state needs to crack down on Muslim religious edicts, or fatwas, that incite violence against Christians.
"They should also focus on intelligence work to prevent these things from happening. The security apparatuses' job is not just to investigate after the crime is committed, but also to preemptively stop it from happening. Finally, if there are extremist factions within security apparatuses, these must be looked into as well because they hold significant authority."
Aied Wanget, a Coptic bookstore owner in Minya, said Copts were instrumental is helping oust the Muslim Brotherhood, and he still supports el-Sissi's fight against terrorism as part of an international coalition.
"Muslims kill not only Copts but also police and soldiers," Wanget said.
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(Special correspondents Omar Medhat contributed reporting from Cairo, Makarios Nassar from Minya.)
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