On April 9, 2017 (March 13, 2017 in the lunar calendar), two churches in northern Egypt exploded. The explosions were caused by bombs placed under church seats. About 1,000 people were attending a mass in the church when the explosions occurred. On the morning of April 9, 2017, there were explosions in churches in two cities in northern Egypt. That day coincided with religious activities before the Christian Easter. The day before Easter is known as Palm Sunday. The first explosion occurred in a Coptic Christian church in the city of Tanta, killing at least 26 people and injuring about 70 others. Among them are clergy and choir members. It was reported that the explosion was caused by a bomb placed under the seat, and about 1,000 people were attending Mass when it exploded. Hours later, an explosion outside a Coptic church in Alexandria, also in the north, killed at least 11 people and injured about 30 others. A senior police officer, Emad Al-Rekaiby, was killed. Bishop Pope Tawadros II, the Coptic patriarch of Egypt, was attending Mass in the church at the time, but he was known to be unharmed. The extremist group "Islamic State" (ISIS) later claimed responsibility for both incidents. Egypt has a population of about 91 million, of which about 90% are Muslim and nearly 10% are Christian. Vulnerable Christians have become targets of Islamic extremist forces in Egypt. The persecution and discrimination faced by Coptic Christians in Egypt has peaked since the overthrow of the Mubarak regime in 2011. Last December, 29 people were killed in an explosion at a Coptic Christian church in Cairo. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack. Just a few days ago, US President Donald Trump received Egyptian President Sisi in Washington. The two expressed concerns about terrorism and ISIS. In addition, the US congressional delegation also stressed that Egypt should be tolerant and accept other religions. Pope Francis plans to visit Cairo later this month, when he will meet with sectarian leaders, including Coptic leaders. Francis expressed his condolences on the same day. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also expressed concern and hoped that everything would be restored.