Coptic celebration canceled in Daqahlia due to security concerns

The prosecution office at the Belqas Police Station in the Daqahlia governorate decided on Wednesday to cancel the celebration of St. Demiana’s birth, as well as ban signs of celebrations at the Belqas monastery, in anticipation of a terrorist attack, privately owned Masrawy news website reported.

News of a terrorist cell formed by a 26-year-old driver and 27-year-old mechanic planning on carrying out an attack against the monastery had come to the police’s attention earlier. The suspects were allegedly planning on sabotaging electricity boxes, before taking advantage of the chaos to plant a bomb inside a car within the monastery during the celebration.

After questioning the suspects, one of them confessed to receiving money from the other in return for carrying out the plan, which they agreed upon about a month ago, Masrawy reported.

The other suspect also confessed to receiving funding from “a businessman from Dekernes, a city in Daqahlia.”

According to the police, the celebration of St. Demiana’s birth was canceled to protect civilians and inhabitants of the monastery during that period. Visits to the monastery were also restricted to trips that had already been planned.

Thousands of Egyptian Copts visit the monastery every year between May 12 and 20 to celebrate St. Demiana’s birth, an Egyptian martyr of the early fourth century.

In mid-April, a fake bomb was found next to the Virgin Church in Al-Saff in Giza during the Christian celebration of Palm Sunday.

The suspicious object that was allegedly defused turned out to be comprised of bricks wrapped in duct tape and wires, placed there to incite panic. 

Meanwhile, in Cairo, the bomb squad defused a homemade bomb placed opposite a bank in the neighborhood of Zamalek on Wednesday.

Investigations revealed that unknown assailants threw the bomb in front of the bank and ran away, privately owned Al-Masry Al-Youm newspaper reported.

Another bomb was also found on Wednesday on a bridge in Khatatba in Monufiya according to Al-Masry Al-Youm.

Security forces defused the bomb at the scene, adding that it consisted of a gas cylinder connected to a mobile phone, and a canister of insecticide with the phrase “there’s no God but God” and a picture of sword engraved on it.

The SIM card inside the phone was confiscated by the prosecution, who will contact the service provider to identify the card’s owner.