- CAIRO: Egypt's interior minister said Sunday the government had proof that the Army of Islam, a Palestinian group linked to Al-Qaeda, was behind the New Year's Day bombing of a church that killed 23 people.
A spokesman for The Army of Islam in Gaza praised the attack but denied its involvement.
Egyptian officials had suspected an Al-Qaeda-inspired bomber was behind the blast that ripped through a crowd outside the church in the city of Alexandria, prompting protests by Christians that the state had not done enough to protect them.
"If elements of the Palestinian Army of Islam, linked to Al-Qaeda, thought they had hidden behind elements that were recruited, we have decisive proof of their heinous involvement in planning and carrying out such a villainous terrorist act," Interior Minister Habib El-Adli said in a speech.
The bomber died in the blast, which wounded 97 people.
Egyptian state security had pointed to possible foreign involvement and officials said they were investigating several Palestinians who were perceived as possible threats.
