Hans Rustad 500 salafister omringet en kirke i det nordlige Kairo søndag og opptrådte så aggressivt at det kom til full konfrontasjon: fem er drept og titalls såret.
Det kan virke som om salafistene er ute etter å utløse krig mellom kristne og muslimer.
Man bruker et rykte om at en kristen kvinne skal omvendt seg til islam, men holdes i fangenskap av kirken, som påskudd. Dette er blitt et slagord for safalister og jihadister over hele Midtøsten.
De angriper kirker for å «befri» kvinnen.
Soldiers and police, backed by tanks, fired guns and tear gas to separate the groups, according to reports.
Eyewitnesses said some 500 conservative Muslims – known as Salafists – gathered at the Coptic Saint Mena Church in the northwestern Cairo suburb demanding to take custody of the woman.
Deteriorating relations
Shouts were exchanged between church guards, people living near the church and the protesters, which developed into a fully-fledged confrontation during which the two sides exchanged gunfire, firebombs and stones.
«I just left one young man dead inside the church,» one man, a Christian, was quoted as telling Reuters journalists.
A parish priest, Father Hermina, told the AFP news agency that the group had attempted to storm the church earlier in the day.
