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| The village of Dalgamon, Tanta, north of Cairo, Egypt. |
CAIRO — At least 21 people were killed and dozens more injured after an explosion ripped through a Coptic Christian church in northern Egypt during a service to celebrate Palm Sunday, according to an official from the Health Ministry.
The explosion occurred at 9:30 a.m. at St. George’s Church in the Nile delta city of Tanta, 50 miles north of Cairo.
The deputy minister of health put the preliminary death toll at 21, but some local television reports said at least 25 people had died.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast, but the bombing followed a number of attacks by Islamic State militants targeting Egypt’s minority Christians.
It comes weeks before Pope Francis is to visit Egypt.
Photos from the scene circulating on social media showed scenes of devastation inside the church. Initial reports said that the explosion occurred in the pews near the front of the church, and that many of the dead were children.
A security official told the state news agency they believed the blast had been caused by an explosive device planted inside the church.
President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi ordered military hospitals to treat the injured, Sky News Arabia reported.
Eyewitnesses said that an angry crowd outside the church attacked a young man they accused of being involved in the attack.
In December, the Islamic State claimed responsibility for a suicide attack on a chapel in the grounds of St. Mark’s Cathedral, the main Coptic Church in Cairo, killing at least 28 people.
In February, hundreds of Christians fled northern Sinai, where the Egyptian Army is fighting a local Islamic State affiliate, following a targeted campaign of violence and intimidation.
Christians, mostly Orthodox Copts, account for about 10 percent of Egypt’s population, which is predominantly Sunni Muslim.
Francis’ planned trip to the country is seen as an opportunity to improve ties between Christians and Muslims. The pontiff is to visit with Mr. Sisi; the leader of the Coptic Orthodox Church; and the grand imam of Al Azhar, a 1,000-year-old mosque and university that is revered by Sunni Muslims.
In a news conference to provide details about the trip on Friday, the Catholic archbishop of Egypt, Bishop Emmanuel, said that the pope’s pending journey was a signal that Egypt is safe for visitors.
In 2011, a suicide bombing ripped through a throng of worshipers outside a Coptic Christian church in the port city of Alexandria, killing at least 21 people in one of the worst attacks against Egypt’s Christian minority.
Earlier this month, an explosion near a police training center in the Nile Delta city injured 13 officers.
In a Twitter post, a spokesman for the Foreign Affairs Ministry, Ahmed Abu Zeid, said, “Terrorism hits Egypt again.”
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