CAIRO — The Egyptian government announced Sunday that it had “conclusive proof” that an al-Qaeda-linked Palestinian militant group orchestrated the New Year’s Day bombing outside a Coptic Christian church that killed 25 worshipers and agitated sectarian tensions across Egypt.
Interior Minister Habib Adli blamed the attack on the Army of Islam, an extremist organization based in the Gaza Strip. The naming of foreigners as the culprit may help Egyptian authorities in easing escalating tensions between Muslims and Copts, who make up about 10 percent of the nation’s population.
Adli indicated, however, that the Army of Islam recruited Egyptians in planning the bombing. Cairo has long accused militants in Gaza — backed either by al-Qaeda or other radical groups — of using the seaside enclave to plot cross-border attacks to upset Egypt’s tourism industry and inflame religious mistrust.
“We have conclusive proof of their heinous involvement in planning and carrying out such a villainous terrorist act,” Adli said of the Palestinian organization.
Authorities did not disclose what evidence they had. But state-run newspaper Al-Ahram reported that the government had confessions from suspects that pointed to the Army of Islam.
The group has denied involvement.
“Despite our praise to those who executed the attack, the Army of Islam has no connection to the Alexandria church bombing,” the group said in a statement. No one has claimed responsibility for the bloodshed.
