EGYPT ON LOCKDOWN: ISIS terror threat shuts down churches for summer
ALL churches across Egypt have been closed over the summer as officials fear further terror attacks against the country’s Christian community.
Extra security forces have been deployed at Egyptian chuches
The Coptic Christian denomination in Egypt - the most targeted Christian group in the country - has been issued orders to halt all activities and events outside their churches due to security threats.
A source told Reuters the Coptic Pope had warned individual church leaders of an Islamist threat against the community, asking them to ensure day-to-day church activities were temporarily suspended.
The instructions follow a recent bout of Islamic State attacks against Egyptian Copts, with more than 100 believers killed in Egypt since December.
In May, the militant group claimed responsibility for killing 29 pilgrims travelling to a monastery in central Egypt.
Just a month earlier, 44 people were killed in bomb attacks at a cathedral and another church on Palm Sunday.
The rise of militant activity in Egypt has driven the Coptic Church to seek precautionary measures, with the Egyptian government providing increased security.
Islamic State has stepped up attacks against Egyptian Copts
Sources said a representative of the Coptic Orthodox Pope told individual church leaders about the cancellations.
Copts on trips or youth camps were told to cut short their activities and return home early.
A Coptic church official, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said his church received "oral instructions this week, nothing written, to prevent panic”, adding that the church had been provided with additional security forces.
The church has been provided with additional security forces
All faith-related activity, including trips and events, have also been cancelled by the Evangelic and Catholic Churches in Egypt.
Speaking to World Watch Monitor, Dr Andrea Zaki, Head of the Egyptian Evangelical Church, confirmed the orders to suspend activities had come directly from security agencies in the country.
He confirmed, however, that all church services would remain unaffected.
The Coptic Christian denomination is the most targeted group in Egypt
Egypt faces an insurgency led by Islamic State in the Sinai Peninsula, where hundreds of soldiers and police have been killed since 2013.
At least 23 soldiers were killed last week when suicide car bombs tore through two military checkpoints in the region.
The attack was claimed by ISIS and was one of the bloodiest assaults on security forces in years.