De Telegraaf, Dec. 12, 2016
Deadly blasts in major cities around the world returned, seemingly in sync the past two days. Dutch daily De Telegraaf's Monday front page reads: "Weekend of attacks" above two pictures of crying women, one in Istanbul where 44 people died Saturday, the other in Cairo, where at least 25 were killed on Sunday.
The death toll of a twin bomb explosion outside an Istanbul stadium on Saturday has risen to 44, including 36 police officers, with dozens more wounded, Hurriyet reports. After the attack, which was claimed by Kurdish terrorists, Turkish police arrested 118 officials from the pro-Kurdish opposition party HDP.
In Cairo, at least 25 worshippers were killed yesterday in a bomb explosion at the city's largest Coptic cathedral that also left many wounded. Mada Masr reports that the explosion occurred just before communion, when the church is the most crowded. "The choice of this time would ensure the highest casualty count," a church deacon said. No organization has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, the worst on Egypt's Christian minority in years.
The bloody weekend was also marked by the death of at least 20 people as a car bomb filled with explosives rammed into the main entrance of a port Sunday morning in Mogadishu, Somalia.