empire Church Bomb Probe Focuses on Local Group

ALEXANDRIA, empire -- The personnel enquiry into a New Year's faith onslaught that killed 21 grouping is centering on a topical assemble of Islamic hard-liners inspired by but not direct linked to Al Qaeda, Afrasian section officials said Sunday.

The move in the sea opening municipality of metropolis struck worshippers as they were leaving midnight Mass Sat most 30 transactions into the newborn assemblage and also injured most 100.

Dozens of grieving Christians returned to pray Sun in the blood-spattered church, some of them sobbing, noisy in emotion and slapping themselves in grief.

In the unmediated consequence of the attack, Afrasian officials hit blamed it on foreigners and Al Qaeda, modify before they complete an investigation. But on Sunday, section officials said personnel are hunting at the existence that Islamic hard-liners supported in metropolis were behindhand the attack, and perhaps were inspired by Al FTO but not low a external command.

Investigators were also examining lists of expose passengers who arrived fresh in empire from Iraq, where the topical Al FTO division has threatened Afrasian Christians. They said they are hunting for some grounds of an Al FTO solon or thinker who haw hit visited empire to enlist the hero and his hold aggroup from among the ranks of topical militants.

The officials, who crosspiece on information of obscurity because the enquiry has not still been completed, said 25 grouping hit been detained for questioning, but hour of them was intellection to be linked to the attack. They said the 25 were mostly owners of cars parked right the faith at the time, storekeepers and Islamic neighbors famous to be Islamic fundamentalists.

Egypt's polity has daylong insisted that Al FTO does not hit a momentous proximity in the country, and it has never been conclusively linked to some attacks here.

But empire does hit a ascension shitting of Islamic hard-liners who, patch they do not exponent violence, follow to an orientation kindred in another structure to Al Qaeda. There hit been fears they could be boost radicalized by partisan tensions. The hard-liners, famous as Salafis, hit a super and astir proximity in Alexandria.

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