Egyptians raise a wooden cross and palm leaves originally intended for Palm Sunday celebrations, as they gather outside the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate in Alexandria after a bomb blast struck worshippers gathering to celebrate Palm Sunday on April 9, 2017 AFP
The UN Security Council has condemned the bombings of two Coptic Christian churches in Egypt Sunday, calling the attacks "heinous" and "cowardly."
The two blasts at Tanta's Mar Girgis Church and Alexandria's St Mark's Cathedral, where Pope Tawadros II was leading the service, killed over 40 people and injured more than 100 in the deadliest attack targeting Copts in years.
A statement by the council urged all member states to cooperate with the Egyptian government in bringing to justice the perpetrators of the attacks, which were claimed by the Islamic State militant group.
"The members of the Security Council reaffirmed that terrorism in all its forms and manifestations constitutes one of the most serious threats to international peace and security," the statement added.
Egypt's National Defense Council is currently convened, presided by President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, to discuss the consequences of the attacks.
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