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At Least 6 Killed by Gunmen Outside Coptic Christian Church in Egypt

   Edward Yeranian | Cairo 07 January 2010
   Coptic Orthodox members at prayers

Photo: AP

   Egyptian  Coptic  Orthodox  members  perform  prayers  at  the  Coptic
   Cathedral in Cairo, Egypt, 07 Jan 2010

   More  than half a dozen Coptic Christians were killed and another half
   dozen  were wounded, many seriously, after a Thursday morning drive-by
   shooting after a Christmas midnight mass in Nag Hamadi in Upper Egypt.
   Egypt's  Coptic  Christian  community was celebrating midnight mass on
   Christmas  Day,  according  to  the  Coptic calendar, when the shooter
   sprayed  a  large crowd in front of the church with a hail of gunfire.
   Many  died  on the spot.  Others were taken to the hospital in serious
   condition with gunshot wounds.
   Coptic  bishop  Kirollos says the drive-by shooter unleashed a torrent
   of gunfire on crowd of worshippers.
   Nag  Hamadi,  64  kilometers from the famous Temple of Luxor, has been
   racked  by  sectarian  violence since the reported sexual assault of a
   Muslim  girl by a Christian man, in November.  Muslim residents of the
   town  ransacked,  burned and looted Christian homes and shops for five
   days after the alleged incident.
   Christians  in  the town say that they had received further threats of
   revenge  in  recent  days  and many were afraid to attend the midnight
   mass.

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