AL-QAEDA would seem to have found an easy target in Middle Eastern Christians who have a limited ability to respond, but such attacks could easily escalate into sectarian clashes, analysts say.
Responsibility for the apparent suicide bombing early on New Year’s Day at a Coptic church in Alexandria in which 21 people were killed and 79 were wounded has not yet been claimed, although Cairo has indirectly implicated Al-Qaeda.
In claiming an October attack on a church in Baghdad in which 46 Christians were killed, Al-Qaeda affiliate the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI) also threatened the Coptic church, accusing it of holding against their will two priests’ wives they say had converted to Islam.
And in December, Al-Qaeda-linked website Shumukh al-Islam had Al-Qiddissin (The Saints) church in Alexandria, where Saturday’s bombing took place, on a list of targeted Coptic places of worship.
‘Christians are an easier and weaker target than other’ communities, said Bahrain-based analyst from the International Institute for Strategic Studies, Emile Hokayem.
This is ‘a new strategy for Al-Qaeda, as attacking Shi’ites was politically too costly and the Shia militias were able to retaliate and inflict serious damage,’ he said of the Sunni militant group in Iraq. ‘Attacking US forces (also) carries the threat of retaliation, (whereas) the Christians can’t retaliate,’ said Mr Hokayem.
Trusting to make the right decisions can be tough. Many of us develop this ability over the course of our life. It doesn’t really just happen if you know what I mean.