44 killed as bombings hit Coptic churches in Egypt

Reuters
TANTA/CAIRO
At least 44 people were killed in bomb attacks on the symbolic cathedral seat of the Coptic Pope and another church on Palm Sunday, prompting anger and fear among Christians and troop deployments across Egypt.
Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attacks, which also injured more than 100 people and occurred a week before Coptic Easter, with Pope Francis scheduled to visit Egypt later this month.
President Abdel Fattah al Sisi declared a three-month state of emergency.
The assault is the latest on a religious minority increasingly targeted by Islamist militants, and a challenge to President Abdel Fattah al Sisi, who has pledged to protect them as part of his campaign against extremism.
The first bombing in Tanta tore through the inside of St. George Church during its Palm Sunday service, killing at least 27 people and injuring at least 78. The second, carried out a few hours later by a suicide bomber in Alexandria, hit Saint Mark's Cathedral, the historic seat of the Coptic Pope, killing 17 people, including three police officers, and injuring 48.