(CNN) The Egyptian interior ministry said Sunday that its forces killed 19 militants who it says were involved in Friday's deadly attack on Christian worshipers in the southern province of Minya.

The ministry said the men were killed in a shootout in a mountainous area in the western part of the province. Security forces tracked the men back to that area following the attack that killed seven Coptic Christian worshipers on their way to a monastery, the ministry said.

The ministry posted pictures of bodies it claimed were dead militants and the weapons found in their possession.

Friday's attack on Coptic Christians was just the latest incident of violence against the religious minority, which is the largest Christian community in the Middle East. Last year, at least 28 people were killed when gunmen wearing fatigues and face masks opened fire on a bus carrying Coptic Christians to a monastery.

Hundreds of mourners gathered Saturday for the funeral of the seven people who were killed Friday when gunmen opened fire on a bus carrying Coptic Christians, Egyptian state-run media outlet Ahram Online reported.

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