ICC Note: Egyptian officials claim they have proof that the Army of Islam, a group with ties to Al-Qaida, was behind the deadly New Years bombing of a church in Alexandria.
1/23/2011 Egypt (Reuters) – Egypt’s interior minister said on Sunday the government had proof that the Army of Islam, a Palestinian group linked to Al-Qaida, was behind the New Year’s Day bombing of a church that killed 23 people.
Officials had suspected an Al-Qaida -inspired bomber was behind the blast that ripped through a crowd outside the church in the city of Alexandria, prompting protests by Christians that the state had not done enough to protect them.
The Army of Islam considers leaders of Al-Qaida as spiritual mentors and endorses its ideology, though it has never admitted direct links to the group. An Iraq-based Al-Qaida group had called for attacks on Egypt’s Christians, who make up one tenth of the population, before the church bombing.
