The spokesman of the Coptic Orthodox Church in Egypt Polis Halim said that a Christian priest was assassinated after being targeted by a hail of bullets when he was leaving a religious ceremony, according to Anadolu Agency.
Egypt’s Ministry of Interior has announced that the Priest of Mar Guirguis Church in Al-Arish, Rafael Moussa, was killed in the industrial part of El-Arish, northeast Sinai.
Halim said in a statement, “The church was informed today of the assassination of the priest Rafael Moussa as he was targeted with bullets after leaving a Mar Guirguis Church in El Arish.”
When Halim was asked about who would be behind the assassination, the Coptic Orthodox Church spokesman said, “The priest assassination came directly after he left the church and we don’t know any further details about the accident.”
According to Ammaq News Agency, which is linked to the Islamic State(ISIS), the Islamic State has claimed its responsibility over the assassination of the Coptic priest in Al-Arish.
Several extremist organizations are active in North Sinai, the most prominent of all is “Ansar Bait al-Maqdis”, which announced its allegiance to the Islamic State (ISIS) in November 2014. Later it changed its name to Sinai Province.
The militant groups which are active in Sinai usually declare their responsibilities for the attacks as “Sinai Province” and “Agnad Masr”.
