Islamist militants gunned down a Christian priest in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula as he was fixing his car, the Interior Ministry and the Coptic Orthodox Church said on Thursday.
Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack and threatened more attacks in the future.
Father Rafael Moussa of the Mar Girgis church in Arish, capital of the North Sinai province, was getting his car fixed when the gunmen shot him, the ministry said in a statement. He was on his way back from prayer, the church said.
“Islamic State soldiers were able to successfully target the priest Moussa Azmi, known as Rafael, who fights Islam,” the group said in a statement.
Orthodox Copts make up about 10 percent of Egypt’s 90 million people and are the Middle East’s biggest Christian community. They have long complained of discrimination.
In a separate attack in Arish, one policeman was killed and three wounded when an improvised bomb exploded as their convoy drove near a police station, the Interior Ministry said.
