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After a series of explosions ripped through churches and luxury hotels in Sri Lanka on Sunday, killing more than 290 people, here are some previous cases of deadly violence at Easter:
Egypt, 2017, 45 dead
On April 9, 2017 two churches are bombed on Palm Sunday, killing 45 people. The attacks are in the cities of Tanta and Alexandria, where Coptic Pope Tawadros II had been leading a service. He is unharmed.
The Islamic State group claims responsiblity.
Pakistan, 2016, 75 dead
On March 27, 2016, 75 people including many children are killed and hundreds are injured when a bomb packed with ball bearings explodes near a popular park in Lahore where Christians were celebrating Easter.
The attack is claimed by the Pakistani Taliban faction Jamaat-ul-Ahrar.
Read more: ‘Horrific’, ‘cruel’, ‘sad’: World leaders react to Sri Lanka blasts
Nigeria, 2012, 41 dead
On April 8, 2012, 41 people are killed in a car bomb attack on Easter Sunday near a church in Kaduna, a key cultural and economic centre in the north that has been hit by the Islamist group Boko Haram.
Other attacks against Christians
– Philippines: At least 21 people are killed on January 27, 2019 in a double suicide attack at a Catholic cathedral in the remote Muslim-majority island of Jolo.
The IS group claim responsibility. Authorities attribute it to the Ajang-Ajang faction, a group linked to the Jolo-based Abu Sayyaf Islamist group.
– Egypt: On May 26, 2017, 29 people including many children are gunned down by masked gunmen in central Minya targeting a bus carrying Coptic Christians travelling to the Saint Samuel monastery.
Read more: Sri Lanka bombings: The ugliest side of asymmetrical warfare
The IS group claim responsibility for the attack.
On December 11, 2016, as Coptic Christians are in mid-prayer at their church in Cairo, a suicide attack tears through the building killing 29 people. IS claim responsibility.
– Yemen: Sixteen people are shot dead on March 4, 2016 at a Catholic retirement home in Aden, including four nuns of the Missionaries of Charity, the congregation founded by Mother Teresa of Calcutta.
Local authorities blame the IS group for the attack.
– Pakistan: Twin suicide attacks against churches in Lahore during Sunday service on March 15, 2015 kill 17 people and leave 70 injured, sparking two days of rioting by thousands of Christians.
The attack is claimed by the Tehreek–e-Taliban Pakistan.
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