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Eight masked gunmen opened fire on a bus in the city of Minya in southern Egypt – around 245km south of Cairo – killing 29, including children.

The head of the Coptic cultural centre in Cairo, Anba Ermia, confirmed the death toll to Egyptian news.

The bus, which is thought to have been carrying around 50 Coptic Christians, was heading to Anba Samuel monastery in the city.

ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack, according to its Amaq News Agency.

Just hours after the atrocity, Egypt's president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi ordered military strikes against terrorist camps in the country.

The attack comes after ISIS bombed churches in Tanta and Alexandria over Easter – killing 46.

(Image: US EMBASSY)

President Donald Trump said in a statement Friday that the "merciless slaughter of Christians in Egypt tears at our hearts and grieves our souls".

US officals in Cairo have warned tourists of an imminent but unspecified attack threat from the Hassm Group – a terror organisation with links with ISIS.

In a statement, the US embassy said: "The Embassy is aware of a potential threat posted on a website by the Hassm Group, a known terrorist organization, suggesting some kind of unspecified action this evening."

Around 231,000 British nationals visited Egypt in 2016.

The Foreign Office say “terrorists are very likely to try to carry out attacks in Egypt”.

(Image: GOOGLE)

The death cult has been prolific in targeting Christians in Egypt and around the world in recent years.

Christians have reported family members being killed on their way to work with shootings on the increase across the country.

Ishak Ibrahim, researcher at the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, said: “What we are seeing here is new. There has always been violence against Christians but it was usually for a 'reason' like land disputes.

"Now Christians are killed just for being Christians.”

ISIS has also released a chilling propaganda video in which it threatens to increase attacks against Christians in Egypt and to “liberate” Cairo in a video released in February.

The attack comes hours after the start of Ramadan which anti-terror experts fear will be hijacked by jihadists looking to cause carnage.

This holy month sees Muslims around the globe fast from dawn till sunset to mark the month the Quran was first revealed to the Prophet Muhammed.

But the peaceful occasion has in recent years been tarnished by evil ISIS followers who have used the month – and especially the first Friday – to carry out terror hits.

The Egypt bus attack follows the slaughter of 22 people at the Manchester Arena on Monday.

ISIS claimed responsbility for the atrocity carried out by suicide bomber Salman Abedi, who is suspected of having links with the jihadist group.