Egypt’s official Middle East News Agency (MENA) quoted an Interior Ministry source as saying that security personnel had foiled an attack by two gunmen on a church in Cairo’s southern Helwan district.

According to the source, who was not named, one of the culprits was killed by police while the second had fled the scene of the attack.

The area has since been cordoned by police, who are in the process of searching for the second attacker, the same source said.

State-run news agency Al-Ahram reported that the Marminna Church in Helwan had come under fire by unknown assailants, resulting in an as-yet-undetermined number of casualties.

State daily Akhbar al-Youm, meanwhile, reported that a “terrorist” had been shot dead by police after attempting to force his way into the church.

The Interior Ministry has yet to issue an official statement on the incident, which occurred only hours after the Egyptian army announced the death of six soldiers and three gunmen in two separate armed confrontations in the northern Sinai Peninsula. 

In April, a deadly attack on two churches in northern Egypt left 45 people dead. The Daesh terrorist group later claimed responsibility for the attack, which coincided with the Christian Palm Sunday holiday.