Solved case · 2016
Also known as Cairo Church bombing
The short answer
On 11 December 2016, a suicide bomber killed 29 people and injured 47 others at St. Peter and St. Paul's (Botroseya) Church, adjacent to Cairo's Saint Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral. ISIS claimed responsibility; Egyptian authorities identified the bomber and arrested several suspects.
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Suggest coverage for Botroseya Church bombingOn the morning of 11 December 2016, at around 10:00 am, an explosion tore through a chapel adjacent to Saint Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in Cairo's Abbassia district, during a period when the church compound was hosting worshippers. The blast killed 29 people and injured 47 others. Egyptian state media initially reported uncertainty over whether the device was detonated by a suicide bomber or remotely triggered, though officials believed any remote device would have needed to be large. The device reportedly contained approximately 12 kilograms (26 lb) of TNT, and an unnamed church source told a Nile TV reporter that the bomb had been thrown inside the cathedral's hall near the entrance.
In the aftermath, security forces cordoned off the area, inspected the compound and its security cameras, and the Ministry of Health dispatched fourteen ambulances. Casualties were transported to Demerdash and Dar al-Shifa hospitals. Authorities placed Cairo International Airport and the city's transport network, including its subway, on heightened alert. Prime Minister Sherif Ismail and Cairo's security chief, General Khaled Abdel-Aal, visited the scene, and the prosecutor general ordered Homeland Security to investigate. Cabinet spokesman Ashraf Sultan characterized the attack as "terrorist" in nature. The Interior Ministry also opened an investigation into the police unit that had been assigned to protect the church complex. By 26 December, Egypt's Army Corps of Engineers reported the church renovation was 80% complete, with hopes of reopening it in time for Coptic Christmas on 7 January.
On 12 December, President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi identified the bomber as 22-year-old Mahmoud Shafiq Mohammed Mustafa, reporting that three men and a woman had been arrested in connection with the attack, with two others still being sought. On 13 December, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) claimed responsibility via its Amaq News Agency. An Interior Ministry official stated that Mustafa had previously been arrested in 2014 in Fayoum province on charges connected to the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood; a lawyer who represented him at that time described his arrest, subsequent torture allegations, reduction of charges, and eventual release in 2015 after exceeding pretrial detention limits. The Interior Ministry later stated the attack was organized by a group with alleged links to Ansar Bait al-Maqdis (ISIS–Sinai Province), and claimed Muslim Brotherhood figures in Qatar had provided financing — an allegation denied by both the Brotherhood and the Qatari government. By early 2017, eight suspects had reportedly been arrested in connection with the bombing.
The bombing prompted widespread condemnation from Egyptian officials, religious leaders including Coptic Pope Tawadros II and Pope Francis, and numerous governments and international bodies, including the United Nations Security Council, which condemned the attack as an act of terrorism.
Mahmoud Shafiq Mohammed Mustafa, later identified as the bomber, was arrested in Fayoum province on charges related to the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood.
Prosecution dropped arms possession and banned-organization charges against Mustafa, retaining only a misdemeanor charge of protesting without a permit.
Fayoum Criminal Court ordered Mustafa's release after he exceeded the maximum pretrial detention period for misdemeanors.
Mustafa reportedly visited Qatar.
Mustafa reportedly returned to Cairo from Qatar.
A suicide bombing at St. Peter and St. Paul's (Botroseya) Church in Cairo's Abbassia district killed 29 people and injured 47 others.
President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi identified the bomber as Mahmoud Shafiq Mohammed Mustafa and reported arrests of several suspects; el-Sisi and Coptic Pope Tawadros led the funeral procession for victims.
ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack via its Amaq News Agency.
An open letter condemning the bomber by Egyptian academic Azza Radwan Sedky was published in Ahram Online.
Egypt's Army Corps of Engineers reported that 80% of renovations at the church had been completed.
By early 2017, eight suspects had been arrested in connection with the bombing.
Victims first. Every legal label is set from public records and court outcomes, not from the prose.
Identified by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi as the assailant who detonated the suicide bomb; died in the attack, so was never prosecuted for the bombing.[3]
Officially named a person of interest by Egyptian National Security Agency investigators as the fugitive leader of the cell that organized the attack; not charged. He fled abroad before the bombing and has not been reported captured or tried.[3]
President of Egypt; publicly identified the bomber, announced arrests, and led the state funeral for victims.[3]
Cairo's security chief; visited the bombing scene.[3]
Egypt's prosecutor general; ordered the Homeland Security department to investigate the bombing.[3]
Interior Ministry official (police Maj. Gen.) who stated the suicide bomber had previously been arrested in 2014 in Fayoum province.[3]
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Sadr City and other Shia neighbourhoods, Baghdad, Iraq · 2016
On 11 May 2016, the Islamic State carried out a series of bombings in and around Shia neighbourhoods of Baghdad, Iraq, including a truck bombing in a crowded Sadr City market, killing and wounding hundreds of people, mostly civilians.
