Why Egypt's anti-terror efforts have failed to curb attacks

A nun cries as she stands inside Cairo's Coptic cathedral following a bombing, Cairo, Egypt, Dec. 11, 2016.  (photo by REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh)

From: Al-Monitor

On Dec. 12, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi called for tighter counterterrorism laws and expressed frustration with the country’s legal system, which he said makes it difficult to prosecute suspects. His statements were made at a state funeral for 24 Coptic Christians killed in an explosion at St. Mark’s Coptic Cathedral complex the previous day.

Egyptians are still reeling from the shock of the attack — the deadliest on Coptic Christians since the Jan. 1, 2011, bombing of the Two Saints Church in Alexandria that claimed the lives of 23 worshipers and injured nearly 100 others. In an online statement, the Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility for the latest act of violence against Egypt’s Christian minority — estimated to be around 10% of the country's population. The Dec. 11 church attack was carried out by a suicide bomber, as IS vowed to continue its "war against the apostates," in reference to Coptic Christians.

IS' warning sent shock waves throughout Egyptian society. While violence has become all too common in Egypt since the overthrow of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi during military-backed protests on July 3, 2013, most of the attacks have targeted members of the security establishment and have been largely confined to the Sinai Peninsula, where rebels supportive of Morsi and IS-affiliated militant groups are staging an insurgency.

The cathedral bombing marks an escalation in violence and signals a dramatic shift in the militant groups’ strategy toward targeting civilians — in particular, Coptic Christians, who are perceived by these groups as "state agents" because of their support for Sisi. But many of the Christians who had given Sisi their backing in the May 2014 presidential election — seeing him as their savior from Islamist rule and counting on him for protection — have since become increasingly disaffected. In protests outside the cathedral the day after the latest church bombing, hundreds of angry Christians chanted anti-government slogans and called for “the downfall of the regime.”

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