Donald Trump declared in a scathing statement Friday night that terrorists 'are engaged in a war against civilization, and it is up to all who value life to confront and defeat this evil.'

The president's firm proclamation came just hours after a jihadi attack on buses carrying Coptic Christians in Egypt left 28 people dead – including children – and another 25 injured

Up to 10 masked gunmen in military uniforms opened fire on the convoy as the group was heading towards Saint Samuel the Confessor Monastery in Maghagha to pray, about 140 miles south of Cairo.

'This merciless slaughter of Christians in Egypt tears at our hearts and grieves our souls,' Trump said while attending the G7 summit in Taormina, Italy.

'Wherever innocent blood is spilled, a wound is inflicted upon humanity. But this attack also steels our resolve to bring nations together for the righteous purpose of crushing the evil organizations of terror, and exposing their depraved, twisted, and thuggish ideology.'

U.S. President Donald Trump released a scathing statement following the massacre of Coptic Christians in a convoy headed toward an Egyptian monastery to pray

Trump tweeted that terrorists 'are engaged in a war against civilization'

Up to 10 masked attackers dressed in military uniforms stopped a bus in Minya province, 140 miles south of Cairo, as the group was heading towards Saint Samuel the Confessor Monastery in Maghagha

Shocking pictures have started to emerge showing bodies covered with black sheets near the scene of the atrocity

'America stands with President Al Sisi and all the Egyptian people today, and always, as we fight to defeat this common enemy,' he added.

Leaders of the G7 nations – Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States – said jointly on Friday that they would pledge 'concerted and coordinated action' to combat global terror.

'We condemn in the strongest possible terms terrorism in all its forms and manifestations,' they said.

The seven industrialized nations pledged to increase their activities to combat terror groups' use of the Internet, including an effort to 'counter propaganda supporting terrorism and violent extremism [and] online recruitment by extremists.'

At least 28 people including 'many children' are dead after the bus slaughter. Pictured is the interior of the bus, smeared with blood

They also signed onto a Trump administration-favored statement demanding new action to cut off funding to ISIS, al-Qaeda and other like-minded militant organizations.

'Because funds are the lifeblood of violent extremists and terrorists, countering the financing of violent extremists who radicalize youth around the globe and threaten our national interests,' their joint announcement read.

Trump's statement, unlike that of the larger group, painted global terrorism as a religious war being conducted, in part, on 'the treasured and historic Christian Communities of the Middle East.'

'The bloodletting of Christians must end, and all who aid their killers must be punished,' the president said, declaring that '[c]ivilization is at a precipice – and whether we climb or fall will be decided by our ability to join together to protect all faiths, all religions, and all innocent life.'_

No group has claimed responsibility for Friday's attack in Egypt, which came on the eve of the holy Muslim month of Ramadan.

The slaughter also followed ISIS's claimed responsibility for three deadly church attacks in December and April that claimed the lives of dozens of people.

The jihadists threatened more attacks against the Arab country's Christians, who make up around 10 per cent of its population of about 90 million.

The group was travelling in two buses and a truck to St. Samuel Monastery from the nearby province of Bani Suief

An injured child is taken to the Maghagha hospital by medics after being shot by masked gunmen who opened fire with automatic rifles

The jihadists threatened more attacks against the Arab country's Christians. Pictured: Blood stains the outside of the bullet-riddled bus

Pictures of the bus aired by state television showed a vehicle riddled with machine-gun fire and its windows shot out.

Ambulances were parked around it as bodies lay on the ground, covered with black plastic sheets.

Security forces launched a hunt for the attackers, setting up dozens of checkpoints and patrols on the desert road.

The grand imam of al-Azhar, Egypt's 1,000-year-old center of Islamic learning, said the attack was intended to destabilise the country.

Separately, the G7 leaders pledged in a joint statement to up their counter-terrorism game

'I call on Egyptians to unite in the face of this brutal terrorism,' Ahmed al-Tayeb said from Germany, where he was on a visit.

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi called a meeting of security officials, the state news agency said.

The United Nations Security Council condemned the attack in Egypt 'in the strongest terms'.

In a statement released Friday, the Council expressed its 'deepest sympathy' and condolences to the families of the victims and emphasized that the perpetrators need to be brought to justice.

'Terrorism in all its forms and manifestations constitutes one of the most serious threats to international peace and security,' the statement said.

Lebanon's militant Hezbollah group also condemned the attack, saying 'it is a new crime added to the criminal record of a murderers' gang.'

The Christians were on the way to Monastery of St. Samuel the Confessor (pictured)

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, which came on the eve of the holy Muslim month of Ramadan

Hundreds of people rushed to the nearby hospital in Maghagha city, near al-Minya, as the wounded were brought in for treatment

Egypt has been fighting ISIS militants who have waged an insurgency, mainly focused in the volatile north of the Sinai Peninsula but there have been also attacks on the mainland.

The country has seen a wave of attacks on its Christians, including twin suicide bombings in April and another attack in December on a Cairo church that left over 75 people dead and scores wounded. ISIS in Egypt claimed responsibility for them and vowed more attacks.

Late last month Pope Francis visited Egypt in part to show his support for the Christians of this Muslim majority Arab nation who have been increasingly targeted by Islamic militants.

During the trip, Francis paid tribute to the victims of the December bombing at Cairo's St. Peter's church, which is located in close proximity to the St. Mark's cathedral, the seat of the Coptic Orthodox Church.

Following the pope's visit, the ISIS affiliate in Egypt vowed to escalate attacks against Christians, urging Muslims to steer clear of Christian gatherings and western embassies as they are targets of their group's militants.

Egypt's Copts, the Middle East's largest Christian community, have repeatedly complained of suffering discrimination, as well as outright attacks, at hands of the country's majority Muslim population.

Over the past decades, they have been the immediate targets of Islamic extremists.