Assaults on Christians have stepped up in Egypt since the overthrow of Islamist President Mohammed Moursi 18 months ago.

The attack took place in the provincial capital of Minya, about 220 kilometers south of Cairo.

It’s home to Egypt’s largest Coptic community who observe Christmas according to the old, Julian calendar.

Police have cordoned off the area and are searching for the perpetrators.

Christians, who make up about 10 percent of Egypt’s 90 million population face increasing discrimination and violence by the nation’s Muslim majority.

Islamists claim that Egypt’s Christians played a disproportionately large role in the mass protests that preceded Moursi’s ouster.

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