The blast occurred on Palm Day, a Christian feast commemorating the entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem. Egyptian media said that Patriarch Theodore II of Alexandria and all Africa may have been inside the church during the attack. He was not harmed, Sputnik reported.

Earlier in the day, one blast hit a church in Tanta; another blast targeted a police station in the same city later.

There were lots of people in both churches — they came to join the divine service.

On December 11, a strong blast hit the Coptic Christian cathedral complex in Cairo, killing 25 and wounding 49 people. Daesh claimed responsibility for the attack.