Deeply pained by attacks in Egypt, says PM Narendra Modi after church bombings

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has condemned the deadly twin Palm Sunday church bombings in Egypt, which claimed around 37 lives.

Taking to Twitter, the Prime Minister expressed his grief over the deadly development and joined other world leaders in condemning the attack.

The first blast was in the northern city of Tanta, where a powerful explosion ripped through a Palm Sunday service at St George`s Church, killing 26 people and wounding 60 others, and not long after that, at least 11 people were killed and 35 others wounded in a suicide bomb attack outside Saint Mark`s Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in Alexandria.

Pope Francis, who is scheduled to visit Cairo this month, where he will meet with various religious leaders, including the head of the Coptic Orthodox Church, expressed his grief following the church attack.

"To my dear brother his Holiness Pope Tawadros II, to the Coptic church and to all of the dear country Egypt, I express my deep condolences, I prayed for the dead and the wounded, I am close to the families and to the entire community. God convert the hearts of the people who spread terror, violence and dead, and also the heart of who produces and traffic weapons," the Pope said.

Russia`s President Vladimir Putin also condemned the attack and offered his condolences.

Today`s attack is the latest in a series of assaults on Egypt`s Christian minority, which makes up around 10 percent of the population of 92 million and has been repeatedly targeted by the Islamic extremists.

In December last year, 25 people were killed by a suicide bombing at Cairo`s main Coptic cathedral. The ISIS later claimed responsibility for the blast.