"It is not new for us to be targeted by terrorism".
But the confirmed airstrike was that which hit a pro-Al-Qaeda group in the Libyan city of Derna that has fought against IS.
"The air forces completely destroyed the targeted training camps and bases of the terrorists who carried out the attack against the Christians in Minya", the statement added.
The claim was carried by the Amaq News Agency, which is linked to the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, a USA -based group that tracks jihadist organizations and their online activities. The bombings were carried out by Islamic State (ISIS) affiliated groups.
At a nearby village, thousands later attended a funeral service that turned into an angry protest against the authorities' failure to protect Christians. Bodies lay on the ground, some covered with black plastic sheets. Men, women and children are among the dead and injured, and 50 ambulances are now at the scene, he said. "They just shot at them randomly and then fled". He also reassured head of the Coptic Orthodox Church Pope Tawadros and Pope Francis on the state's commitment to protect all its citizens, including Copts, and to secure their freedom of faith and freedom of worship, "despite some issues that President el-Sisi did say still require sensitive treatment".
The Egyptian Cabinet, meanwhile, said 13 victims of Friday's bloodshed remained hospitalized in Cairo and Minya province, where the attack took place.
While police had boosted security around churches in the country, no one was prepared for a strike on a desert road.
Sisi said that recent attacks were aimed at making people believe that Christians are not secure in Egypt, and that the government is not protecting them.
They base their theology on the teachings of the apostle Mark, who introduced Christianity to Egypt.
Tehran attackers were ISIS recruits
The US statement said on Wednesday that "states that sponsor terrorism risk falling victim to the evil they promote ". The contest between Iran and Saudi Arabia, the region's main Sunni power, has helped fuel wars in Syria and Yemen.
The shooting came less than two months after the Palm Sunday attacks and on the eve of Islam's holy month of Ramadan, pushing Muslim clerics and the Ministry of Religious Endowments to cancel any official celebration of Ramadan in solidarity with the victims.
In past attacks, Egypt had usually identified local jihadists as the perpetrators.
Pope Francis, who visited Cairo a month ago, described the attack as a "senseless act of hatred".
Coptic Christians make up about 10% of Egypt's population of 91 million. The attacks left over 75 dead and scores wounded.
The shooting was the latest in a series of attacks by ISIL that have killed more than 100 Copts since December, further devastating the community.
The extremists appeared to be in no hurry as they perpetrated the massacre, according to a priest and a relative of one survivor.
President Tony Tan Keng Yam and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong have, respectively, sent condolence letters to Mr Sisi and Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail.
Egypt has been fighting Islamic State group-linked militants who have waged an insurgency, mainly focused in the volatile north of the Sinai Peninsula but there have been also attacks on the mainland.
But many Christians feel the state either does not take their plight seriously enough or can not protect them against determined fanatics.
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