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Second Christian in a week murdered in Sinai

Authorities say Islamist militants killed and decapitated merchant as part of backlash against anti-Morsi activism

11 July 2013, 1:28 pm 1 Edit
The Greek Orthodox Monastery of St. Catherine in the Sinai peninsula. (photo credit: AP file photo/Enric Marti)
The Greek Orthodox Monastery of St. Catherine in the Sinai peninsula. (photo credit: AP file photo/Enric Marti)

EL-ARISH, Egypt (AP) — Security officials say suspected militants have killed a Christian merchant in the northern Sinai Peninsula.

They said 60-year-old Magdy Habashi was abducted last Saturday from the town of Sheikh Zweid. His decapitated body was found early Thursday in a cemetery, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

Habashi is the second Christian to be killed in northern Sinai in less than a week. Coptic Christian priest Mina Abboud Sharobeen was gunned down by suspected militants last Saturday as he walked in an outdoor market.

There has been a backlash against Christians by Islamist militants for their activism against former President Mohammed Morsi, ousted by the military on July 3 after a wave of massive protests against his rule.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.

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