Egypt: Shooting outside Coptic church in Cairo kills three

CAIRO -- Gunmen opened fire on wedding celebrants outside a Coptic Christian church late Sunday, killing at least three people, including a young girl and the mother of the groom. About a dozen others were injured, officials and state media said.

The drive-by shooting in a Cairo suburb was part of a grim pattern of attacks against the Coptic minority in the wake of the coup that toppled Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in July. Some of his followers blame Christians for instigating the enormous protests that preceded his ouster.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility in Sunday’s attack in the Waraa district of Cairo. Witnesses cited by Egyptian media said the gunmen on a motorbike sprayed a crowd of wedding guests with gunfire and then escaped. Distraught residents converged on the scene.

In the Coptic heartland south of Cairo, the deposing of Morsi and a subsequent crackdown on followers triggered a spree of revenge attacks in late summer, including the burning of churches and the looting of Christian-owned shops and businesses.

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laura.king@latimes.com