Egyptian security forces have thwarted a suicide bomb attack on a church just outside of Cairo, state television said on Saturday.
A terrorist wearing a suicide vest was prevented from approaching a church in Qalyubiyah, a governorate north of Cairo, and detonated the vest about 250 metres from the church, killing himself but no one else, state news agency MENA reported.
A spokesman for the health ministry said that a foreign object had exploded leading to the death of one person but no injuries, without elaborating on whether it was an attempted attack on the church.
ISIS Terrorists have claimed several attacks on Egypt's large Christian minority in recent years, including two deadly bombings on Palm Sunday in April 2017 and a blast at Cairo's largest Coptic cathedral in December 2016 that killed 28 people.
The most recent attack came last December, when a gunman fired on worshippers at a Coptic Orthodox church in a Cairo suburb, killing 11 in an attack claimed by ISIS.
The country has fought an insurgency led by ISIS in the Sinai Peninsula that has killed hundreds of soldiers and policemen since the Egyptian military overthrew President Mohamed Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood in mid-2013 - although no official death toll has been released to date.
Surveillance System Along Borders Could Pave Way For Ceasefire In Gaza Titian Painting Found In Plastic Bag Fetches Rs 18 Crore Over 1,400 Mummies Found In Hidden "City Of The Dead" In Egypt Under-Fire Trainee IAS Officer Accuses Pune Collector Of Harassment Trainee IAS Officer Puja Khedkar Recalled To Academy, Training Put On Hold Karnataka's 100% Quota Bill For Kannadigas In Private Firms For These Posts Biden Calls For Ban On Type Of Gun Used In Trump Attack Biden Pledges "I Am All In", Criticises Trump On Policy ISIS Claims Responsibility For Oman Mosque Attack Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.