CAIRO (Reuters) – A large explosion struck outside a Christian church in Egypt's northern city of Alexandria, an Egyptian security source and the Arabic news channel Al Jazeera said Saturday. The security source in the port city of Alexandria said there had been a blast outside a church at about midnight, but they did not have details on any dead or injured.
The television channel cited witnesses who said the blast was caused by a car bomb and that ambulances were in attendance treating an unknown number of casualties.
Muslim majority Egypt has a large Christian minority, making up about 10 percent of the nation's 79 million.
In recent months there have been clashes centred on religious differences. In November a confrontation between hundreds of Christians and riot police in Cairo took a sectarian turn when dozens of Muslims became involved in the violence, lobbing rocks from behind a security cordon.
The Christians had been protesting against a decision by the authorities to halt construction of a church in a Cairo suburb.
One Christian was killed and dozens were hurt in the scuffles, a rare event in Egypt. A total of 156 people were arrested as a result of the incident.
Analysts say the state must address grievances such as those over laws making it easier to build a mosque than a church.
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