Overall, the level of violence has dropped from a peak of 415 deaths in 1995 to 187 last year, according to the Ibn Khaldoun Center, a Cairo research organization. I think it was a long time since they had a high-profile attack and maybe the Copts represent an easier target than assassinating a politician. While most of Egypt's Copts adhere to the Orthodox faith, some are affiliated with the Roman Catholic and Protestant churches. But despite their long history in Egypt, Coptic Christians, who often have a small blue crucifix tattooed on the inside of one wrist, have long occupied an ambiguous place in a country where Islam has become the official religion. Copts are grossly underrepresented in the upper reaches of government and the army, for example, and are still subject to 19th-century Ottoman law that sharply restricts their ability to build or repair a church.
Religion is noted on government identity cards.
Mubarak's government recently has moved to redress some of these grievances by, among other things, ordering Muslim preachers to refrain from describing Copts in their sermons as infidels, according to human rights monitors. Police guards have been posted outside Coptic churches. But the Copts remain especially vulnerable to militant violence, in part because they are often suspected of collaborating with police and also because of their relative prosperity. Militants have been known to rob jewelry stores owned by Copts as a means of financing their operations. The attackers approached from the direction of the church, villagers said, firing at everyone they encountered.