An ISIS video shows the execution of Ethiopian Coptic Christians. Photo: Screenshot.

JNS.org – A leader of the Islamic State terror group’s affiliate in Sinai issued a warning expressing the intent to launch new attacks on Christians in Egypt.

“We are warning you to stay away from Christian gatherings, as well as the gatherings of the army and the police, and the areas that have political government facilities,” said the unnamed Islamic State leader in an interview with the Al Naba weekly newspaper that was published on the messaging app Telegram.

According to the warning, the terror group intends to launch attacks on “legitimate targets,” including churches and Christian businesses. The new threat comes after two Islamic State terror attacks at Egyptian Coptic Christian churches on Palm Sunday, April 9, in the Nile Delta city of Tanta and the coastal city of Alexandria. The attacks killed a combined 45 people.

Islamic State also claimed responsibility for a terror attack at St. Catherine’s Monastery in the Egyptian Sinai in mid-April. One policeman was killed and four others were injured in that attack.

The jihadist terror group is increasingly targeting Christians and religious minorities in Egypt in a challenge to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, who has vowed to protect those population groups from terrorism.