Two gunmen open fire in church; 9 killed, 5 wounded

Cairo, Dec 29: Atleast nine people were killed in an attack on a Coptic Christian church by gunmen, the church is located south of Cairo and the incident took place on Friday.

The deceased list included three police officers also.

The two gunmen opened fire at the entrance of the church of Mar Mina in Helwan district, which was being guarded by police in the run-up to Orthodox Christmas celebrations next week, security sources said.

One attacker was captured and other was shot dead by security forces.

Islamist militants have claimed several attacks on Egypt's large Christian minority in recent years, including two bomb attacks on Palm Sunday in April and a blast at Cairo's largest Coptic cathedral last December that killed 28 people.

The Health Ministry said that nine people had been killed on Friday in addition to the gunman, and five wounded, including two women in serious condition.