Egypt in mourning over Cairo church bombing

President Sisi declares three days of mourning.

Egyptian president Abdul Fattah el-Sisi has urged Muslims and Christians to work together following a suicide bombing on a Coptic church in Cairo, in which 24 people – mostly women and children – were killed.

Declaring three days of mourning, Sisi said that three men and a woman have been arrested in connection with the 11 December attack on Botrosiya Church, adjacent to St Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral.

The attack, by a 22-year-old suicide bomber, occurred during a Sunday service, on the day of a national holiday marking the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad.

So far no terrorist group has claimed responsibility for the bombing which came days after the armed Hasam movement killed six policemen near the Al Salam Mosque in Giza.

Pope Francis was among the world leaders to condemn the Cairo attack, the deadliest against Egypt's Christians since a suicide bomber killed 23 worshippers at a Coptic church in Alexandria on New Year's Day 2011.

Christians make up 10 per cent of Egypt's population, and the Egyptian Coptic community is the largest Christian church in Egypt and north Africa.