At least 7 Christians killed and over a dozen others injured in an attack in Egypt

At least 7 Christians were killed and over a dozen others injured in an attack in Egypt on Friday. Officials say gunmen opened fire on the Christians who were returning from baptizing a child at a Coptic monastery.

In a statement, the church spokesman said the incident on two buses occured mid-afternoon near St Samuel the Confessor Monastery in Minya, 260 km from the capital, Cairo.

Six of the dead were from the same family, and 18 others, including children, were among victims.

The Islamic State Group has claimed responsibility for the ambush in Minya province in central Egypt.

Egypt: Deadly attack on bus near Coptic Christian monastery https://t.co/aZCPE8T3Wh

— Soomaalikabe (Soomaalikabe) November 3, 2018

The last deadly attack on Coptic Christians occurred in December 2017, when an EI jihadist killed nine people in a church in the southern suburbs of Cairo.