This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

Egypt says security forces have killed 19 militants in a shootout, including the gunmen suspected of killing seven Christians in an attack on pilgrims traveling to a remote monastery.

The interior ministry said the militants were tracked to a desert hideout west of the central Minya province, where Friday’s attack took place.

The ministry published photographs purporting to show the dead bodies of the militants and said the men had opened fire when security forces surrounded them.

Friday’s attack was the second in as many years to target pilgrims on their way to the monastery of St Samuel the Confessor. A May 2017 attack left 29 dead.

Christians make up about 10% of Egypt’s population of 100 million and have long complained of discrimination.