Egyptian Christians shot dead in 'rape revenge'

Three gunmen killed at least seven people as they sprayed bullets into worshippers leaving a midnight Mass for Coptic Christmas in Egypt.

The attack last night was thought to be retaliation for the rape of a 12-year-old Muslim girl by a Christian man in the southern town of Nag Hamadi, about 40 miles from the ancient ruins of Luxor. Witnesses said they recognised the lead attacker, a Muslim.

Bishop Kirollos said the victims were six male churchgoers and a security guard. He said he had left St John's church just minutes before the attack on Coptic Christmas Eve. "I heard mayhem and machine gun shots," he said.

The bishop said he was concerned about violence on the eve of Coptic Christmas, which is today, because of previous threats after the rape of the 12-year-old girl in November.

He got a message on his mobile phone saying: "It is your turn." "I did nothing with it," he said. "My faithful were also receiving threats in the streets, some shouting at them: We will not let you have festivities'".

The bishop said he had an idea of who the attackers were, calling them "Muslim radicals." "It is all religious now. This is a religious war about how they can finish off the Christians in Egypt," he said.

Muslim residents of Nag Hamadi rioted for five days in November and torched Christian properties after the rape. This morning, relatives of the dead smashed ambulances in riots outside the hospital in Nag Hamadi, demanding that the bodies be handed over for burial. Police fired tear gas to disperse the crowd.

Clashes between Muslims and mostly Coptic Christians, who form 10 per cent of Egypt's mainly Islamic population, have increased in recent years.

An Amnesty International report said sectarian attacks on Egypt's Coptic Christian community, which is led by Pope Senuda III, and comprises between six million and eight million people, increased in 2008.