Quote:A team of gunmen opened fire on a bus carrying Coptic Christians south of Cairo Friday, killing at least 26 people, including children, and wounding 25 other people, Egyptian officials confirmed.

As many as 10 attackers stormed the bus dressed in military uniforms and wearing masks, according to witnesses. The Christian victims were on their way to visit a monastery.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but Egypt’s Coptic Christians have become the preferred target of the Islamic State in the region. Egypt’s Copts, the Middle East’s largest Christian community, have repeatedly cried out for help from discrimination, as well as outright attacks, at the hands of the country’s majority Muslim population.

Among the wave of recent attacks on Egypt’s Christians: twin suicide bombings in April and another attack in December on a Cairo church that left over 75 people dead and dozens more wounded. ISIS in Egypt claimed responsibility for them and vowed more attacks.