ISIS claims attack on Coptic Christians

The incident also injured 25 others.

SITE Intel Group said that ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attack on the bus.

"Along with the report from its ‘Amaq News Agency for the attack, the Islamic State (IS) issued a formal communique claiming credit for the killing of Coptic Christians in Minya, Egypt," read a report published on the group's website.

Reports said that 10 masked men boarded vehicles carrying Copts and open-fired at them.

Meanwhile, avenging the terror attack, Egyptian planes targeted militant bases in Libya.

Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi said that the country's warplanes struck the Libyan town of Derna six times.

In a tweet on Friday, al-Sisi urged all world leaders to unite against 'this evil'.

In a speech on national television, the Egyptian President warned terrorist organisation and said that he will order strike at any base that train militants.

The attack was also condemned by UN General Secretary António Guterres, who termed the act as “heinous” and “cowardly.”

Earlier a similar attack by ISIS in 2016 had claimed the lives of at least 21 Coptic Christians.

On Apr 9, this year, at least 46 people, belonging to the same faith, died in a dual suicide bomb blast at church services in Alexandria and Tanta, forcing the country's President to declare a state of emergency.

Who are the Copts?

Copts make up to 10 percent of Egypts population and is the largest Christian community on the Middle East.

The Copts follow the teaching of Apostle Mark, who introduced Christianity to Egypt, according to St. Takla Church in Alexandria, the capital of Coptic Christianity.

According to the World Council of Churches, the Coptic language descends from ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics.

Though there were hundreds of Coptic monasteries in ancient Egypt, only 20-odd remains active today.

The Church is headed by the Pope of Alexandria, who is based in the Egyptian capital Cairo.