Egypt set for emergency rule after church attacks

Cairo

EGYPT prepared to impose a state of emergency on Monday after jihadist bombings killed dozens at two churches in the deadliest attacks in recent memory on the country's Coptic Christian minority.

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi announced the three-month period, which will vastly increase the powers of Egypt's security forces, after the Islamic State (IS) group claimed the twin bombings that struck worshippers as they celebrated Palm Sunday mass.

In a defiant speech, he warned the war against jihadists "will be long and painful" after he had ordered the army to protect "vital infrastructu…