CAIRO: A Christian man was killed in southern Egypt by attackers who accused his son of having an affair with a Muslim girl, police said Sunday.
According to the Associated Press (AP), the officials said that Farouk Henry Attallah, 61, was shot to death while strolling through his village of Attaleen in the southern Assuit province.
However, a report on the same subject by Agence France-Presse (AFP) claimed that Muslim relatives of the young woman who was dating a Copt stormed her former boyfriend s house in the southern village, where they found his elderly father at home and killed him.
According to police, the murder was prompted by rumors that Attallah s son had taken intimate pictures of the girl and distributed them through cellular phones and CDs.
Two bystanders were also wounded in the attack, according to AP. AFP reported that at least three men were arrested on suspicion of involvement in the attack.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the press.
Egyptian Christians, known as Copts, make up an estimated 10 percent of Egypt s 78 million people and generally live in peace with the Muslim majority although clashes and tensions do occur, mostly over land disputes or church construction.
The government insists Christians enjoy the same rights as Muslims. -Agencies
