Seven people have been killed in a drive-by shooting outside a church in Egypt as Christians left a midnight mass to mark Coptic Christmas, AlJazeera reported.
A security official said two men drove by a group of worshippers as they were walking out of the Virgin Mary church and opened fire into the crowd in the early hours of Thursday.
Bishop Kirollos of the Nag Hammadi Diocese, a hospital administrator and a local security official all said seven people were killed in the attack.
At least three people were also badly wounded, the security official added.
The shooting occurred in the town of Nag Hammadi in southern Qena province, located about 65km from the famous ancient ruins of Luxor.
The churchgoers had just celebrated midnight mass on the eve of Coptic Christmas, which falls on Thursday.
Christians, mostly Coptic, account for about 10 per cent of Egypt's predominantly Muslim population.
Fatal attack outside Egypt church
