International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that on the evening of January 13, 2018, three armed men killed a Coptic Christian named Bassem Attala as he was returning home from work. Bassem and his family were among the hundreds of Christian families who originally fled el-Arish last year after the Islamic State killed seven Copts. Bassem and his family had returned to el-Arish in August 2017 because they could not find employment elsewhere.
According to a priest at Mar Girgis Coptic Church in el-Arish, “On Saturday evening at about 9:00 p.m., Bassem and his brother finished work in their mobile maintenance shop, closed it, and headed home. While they were on their way, they walked with their Muslim friend; three armed men then forced them at gunpoint. First, the armed men asked Bassem to show the wrist of his hand to see if he was a Christian or not. When they saw a cross tattooed on his wrist, they said to him, ‘Are you Christian?’ He replied, ‘Yes, I’m Christian.’ They then shot him in the head, instantly killing him. After killing Bassem, they asked the Muslim friend and his brother to show them their wrists. When they saw nothing tattooed, they thought they were Muslim. They then asked them to leave “
Many of Egypt’s Coptic Christians have a small cross tattooed on their wrist or hand, a public symbol of their faith. Additionally, Christians dress differently and often live in…
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