Ammon News - AMMONNEWS - An Egyptian explosives expert has been killed while he was attempting to defuse a bomb near a church in Cairo, Al Arabiya’s correspondent reports.

“There were suspicions of an unattended package near the church in Nasr city after which a bomb squad was immediately deployed and attempts were made to diffuse it,” Al Arabiya News Channel’s correspondent Ahmed Othman said.

“The church in question is located in Nasr city and is one of the smaller ones in the areas and the capital,” he added.

Two policemen and an onlooker were also injured when the device exploded, security sources said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the incident.

The incident took place 24 hours before Egypt marks Coptic Orthodox Christmas on Monday. Coptic Orthodox Christians, who make up a substantial majority of all Christians in the country, celebrate Christmas on 7 January, following the Julian calendar.

Christians make up around 10 percent of Egypt’s population.

*Al Arabiya