Gunmen Kill 1, Wound 10 Outside Egyptian Coptic Church During Wedding; Cairo Unrest Continues

Story by the Associated Press; curated by Dave Urbanski

CAIRO (AP) — Security officials in Egypt say gunmen on motorcycles opened fire on a group of people at a Coptic Christian church in Cairo, killing one woman and wounding 10 Sunday night during a wedding.

Authorities had begun an investigation into the shooting in the Waraa neighborhood and offered no motive for the attack. They spoke on condition of anonymity as they weren't authorized to speak to journalists.

Egypt has been on edge since a July 3 military coup ousted the country's Islamist president Mohammed Morsi. Since the coup Coptic Christians have been killed and their churches attacked by angry mobs.

Elsewhere Egyptian anti-riot police fired tear gas Sunday at hundreds of Morsi supporters, besieging them inside a prestigious Muslim institution after stone-hurling protesters cut off a main road.

Image source: RT via YouTube

Image source: RT via YouTube

Sunday's clashes marked the second day of unrest at Al-Azhar University, Sunni Islam's most prominent center of learning. Many Muslim Brotherhood supporters are students at Al-Azhar, a stronghold of the group. The campus is also near where Islamists had a sprawling protest camp that security forces raided in August, leaving hundreds dead and sparking days of unrest.

Image source: RT via YouTube

The students' protest started with a march inside campus, where protesters hurled stones at the administrator's offices, smashing windows and breaking doors, said Ibrahim el-Houdhoud, deputy head of the university. He told satellite news channel Al-Jazeera Mubashir Misr that he warned protesters against leaving campus and clashing with security forces.

The protesters however ignored the advice, marching out of the main gates to hold "prayers for the dead" — honoring students killed in earlier clashes between security forces and protesters in July.

The protests come amid heated debate over a new law that would place tougher restrictions on demonstrators, which includes imposing heavy fines and possible jail time on violators.

Here are a pair of clips of the protests from RT via YouTube:

--[related]