UPDATE - 26 Coptic Christians killed in Upper Egypt attack

*UPDATES DEATH TOLL, ADDS DETAILS

By Omar Thabet

CAIRO (AA) - Twenty-six people were killed and scores more injured on Friday when unidentified attackers opened fire on a bus carrying Coptic Christians in Egypt’s southern Minya province, according to Egypt’s Interior Ministry.

“Unidentified individuals in three 4x4 vehicles opened fire indiscriminately on a bus, killing a number of Coptic Christians,” the statement read.

“Security forces rushed to the scene of the attack, which took place on the road to St. Samuel’s Monastery west of the town of Al-Adwa,” it added.

According to the same statement, a total of 26 people were killed in the attack.

President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi, meanwhile, has called for an urgent meeting of his security council to discuss how to deal with the incident, according to a statement released by the presidency.

In the immediate wake of the deadly attack, which occurred at around noon local time, a local security source confirmed to Anadolu Agency that the incident had taken place on the desert road linking Minya to the nearby province of Beni Sueif.

The same source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the ill-fated bus had been traveling from Beni Sueif to the monastery, located roughly 220 kilometers south of Cairo.

According to the source, eyewitnesses reported seeing the attackers open fire from three vehicles before fleeing the scene.

In April, al-Sisi declared a three-month state of emergency following a double attack on two churches in northern Egypt that left 45 Coptic Christian worshipers dead and scores more injured.

The Daesh terrorist group later claimed responsibility for the twin attacks, which occurred on the Christian Palm Sunday holiday.

The state of emergency allows the authorities to take a host of exceptional security measures, including the referral of terrorism suspects to State Security courts, the imposition of curfews and the confiscation of newspapers.