The Coptic Orthodox Church has issued a statement of condolence for the eight policemen who were killed by Islamist jihadists on 8 May in the Cairo suburb of Helwan.
The policemen were in plainclothes, travelling in a minivan. The jihadists were riding a pickup truck; they blocked the path of the minivan and sprayed the vehicle with automatic rifle fire. A lieutenant and seven lower rank policemen were killed. A military funeral was held for them the following day.
The Interior Ministry has declared that ‘traitor’ police officers were behind the attack, and that the police was now after them.
Ever since the massive Egyptian revolution on 30 June 2013, which led to the overthrow of the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood regime which ruled Egypt in the wake of the 2011 Arab Spring, Islamist jihadists have been conducting terrorist operations in Egypt. They have affiliated themselves to the notorious Daesh.
The Church’s condolence statement denounced the recent attack, and expressed deep sympathy for “the eight brave policemen who had lost their lives in the cowardly terrorist operation”. Muslims and Copts, the statement declared, will continue to offer their lives for the defence of the homeland; their blood will mingle in their ardent endeavour to stand against the enemies of the country and to keep Egypt safe.
Watani International
10 May 2016