Islamic State kills Christian priest and a policeman in Egypt’s North Sinai

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Father Rafael Moussa
Father Rafael Moussa

Islamist militants gunned down a Christian priest in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula as he was fixing his car, the Interior Ministry and the Coptic Orthodox Church said on Thursday.

Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack and threatened more attacks in the future.

Father Rafael Moussa of the Mar Girgis church in Arish, capital of the North Sinai province, was getting his car fixed when the gunmen shot him, the ministry said in a statement. He was on his way back from prayer, the church said.

“Islamic State soldiers were able to successfully target the priest Moussa Azmi, known as Rafael, who fights Islam,” the group said in a statement.

Orthodox Copts make up about 10 percent of Egypt’s 90 million people and are the Middle East’s biggest Christian community. They have long complained of discrimination.

In a separate attack in Arish, one policeman was killed and three wounded when an improvised bomb exploded as their convoy drove near a police station, the Interior Ministry said.

Islamic State also claimed responsibility for that attack.

Egypt is battling an insurgency that gained pace after its military overthrew President Mohamed Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt’s oldest Islamist movement, in mid-2013 following mass protests against his rule.

Thursday is the third anniversary of the mass protests which started on June 30, 2013 and led to Mursi’s ouster.

The insurgency, mounted by Islamic State’s Egyptian branch, Sinai Province, has killed hundreds of soldiers and police and has started to attack Western targets within the country.

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the former military chief who led Mursi’s ouster, describes Islamist militancy as an existential threat to Egypt, an ally of the United States.

Islamic State controls large parts of Iraq and Syria and has a presence in Libya, which borders Egypt.

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9 responses to “Islamic State kills Christian priest and a policeman in Egypt’s North Sinai”

  1. Real heroes – killing a priest as he changed a tire. Just the worst people on earth. Really.

    1. Zenobia Avatar

      ISIL, Nusra and ilk of the Takfiris are the worst people on earth. Yet even worse their supporters.

  2. Oh Yaeh Avatar

    Europe got another taste of the cultural enrichment it is currently importing when a Muslim man screaming “Allahu Akbar” smashed up a Christian church in Sweden, while the statue of a Saint in Italy was defaced with the same words scrawled in graffiti.

    In the italian city of Bologna, the statue of San Petronio, the patron saint of the city, was Vandalized by graffiti that read “Allah Akbar” on 28. Juni 2016.

    Malmö, Sweden: Angry, pro-Palestinian man (identity of the attacker’s was confirmed by using fingerprints.) attacked prominent church, broke many windows.

    1. Zenobia Avatar

      You can always vent your anger and moan very loud. But first make sure you understand what you say otherwise you look a real illiterate moron. Got it dumbo jumbo?

      1. Oh Yaeh Avatar

        Oh Yeah I vent my anger very loud against hate crime, don’t you Majnoun?

      2. Rudy1947 Avatar
        Rudy1947

        Then why don’t you set everyone straight with your sage counsel rather than your worthless rhetoric.

        1. Oh Yaeh Avatar
          Oh Yaeh

          …and he became a “Gust” – typical of this Brüllaffe.

          1. Rudy1947 Avatar
            Rudy1947

            LOL, gotta love your comparison. 😉

  3. What was this so called god thinking! Humans are dumber than they look.

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