22-year-old Mahmoud Shafik Mohamed Mostafa has been declared as the suicide bomber behind the attack on Cairo church by Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi. The attack on Cairo’s Coptic cathedral complex was carried out on Sunday, December 11th during Mass.
“A young man entered the church. His name is Mahmoud Shafik Mohamed Mostafa. He blew himself up inside the church. He is 22-years-old,” announced President Sisi at the state funeral for victims of the attack on Monday.
“Yesterday, the whole night they [forensics] were gathering the body of Mahmoud Shafik Mohamed Mostafa. He is the one who did this with a suicide belt, not with a bag or anything else,” said President Sisi.
The Egyptian President added that four others, including a woman, were arrested by security forces for their involvement in the attack. Two other individuals are yet to be arrested but have been identified by security forces, said President Sisi. The names of the five suspects has not been announced.
President Sisi added that this is just the beginning and that Egypt will hit back hard against terrorism. The Cairo Cathedral terror attack left 24 people dead and many injured.
The attack was the deadliest on Christians since a suicide bomber killed 23 congregants at a church in Alexandria on Jan. 1, 2011.