Cairo, Egypt, Apr 20, 2017 / 05:08 am
Egyptian police on Sunday arrested 13 people who were planning attacks against Christians and public institutions in the country.
The April 16 arrests take on greater importance as Pope Francis prepares to visit Egypt at the end of the month.
According to Aid to the Church in Need, the arrests of these terrorists reveal "how these extremist groups continue to target the Christian community after the double attack against two churches in Tanta and Alexandria on Palm Sunday."
The attacks of April 9 which caused the death of 44 Christians and injured more than 100, were claimed by the Islamic State, which led the authorities to implement security measures outside churches.
The attacks made the government decree a state of emergency for three months, to which was joined the decision by some Christians to celebrate discretely Easter Sunday .
Egypt has a population of 92 million people who are mostly Muslim. Christians are about 10 percent of the population, and have been victims of a number of recent attacks and assaults.
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