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NewsOctober 21, 2013

CAIRO -- Security officials in Egypt say gunmen on motorcycles opened fire on a group of people at a Christian church in Cairo, killing one woman and wounding 10. The officials said the shooting happened Sunday night at Coptic Christian church holding a wedding in the Waraa neighborhood of Cairo...

By HAMZA HENDAWI ~ Associated Press
Egyptians gather at a Coptic Christian church in the Waraa neighborhood of Cairo late Sunday after gunmen on motorcycles opened fire, killing a woman and wounding several people. Egypt has been on edge since a July 3 military coup ousted the country’s Islamist president. Since the coup, Coptic Christians have been killed and their churches attacked by mobs. (Mohsen Nabil ~ Associated Press)
Egyptians gather at a Coptic Christian church in the Waraa neighborhood of Cairo late Sunday after gunmen on motorcycles opened fire, killing a woman and wounding several people. Egypt has been on edge since a July 3 military coup ousted the country’s Islamist president. Since the coup, Coptic Christians have been killed and their churches attacked by mobs. (Mohsen Nabil ~ Associated Press)

CAIRO -- Security officials in Egypt say gunmen on motorcycles opened fire on a group of people at a Christian church in Cairo, killing one woman and wounding 10.

The officials said the shooting happened Sunday night at Coptic Christian church holding a wedding in the Waraa neighborhood of Cairo.

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

Egyptian anti-riot police fired tear gas Sunday at hundreds of supporters of the country's ousted Islamist president, besieging them inside a prestigious Muslim institution after stone-hurling protesters cut off a main road.

Sunday's clashes marked the second day of unrest at Al-Azhar University, Sunni Islam's most prominent center of learning. Many supporters of ousted President Mohammed Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood 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.

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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.

Morsi was overthrown by the military July 3 after millions took to the streets to demand he step down. Since then, Cairo has seen nonstop demonstrations by his supporters demanding his return. A military-backed crackdown has left hundreds dead and seen thousands arrested.

Ousting Morsi escalated militant attacks in Egypt, especially in the volatile Sinai Peninsula. Egypt's interior minister escaped an assassination attempt when a car bomb targeted his convoy near his residence in Cairo last month.

Egypt's official news agency MENA reported that two members of Central Security Forces were injured Sunday when their bus came under attack near border town of Rafah in northern Sinai. Militants attacked the bus with automatic weapons and fled the scene. The soldiers were heading to their camp in Rafah.

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