A bombing at Egypt’s main Christian cathedral killed at least 25 people and wounded another 35, according to Egyptian state media, in the second deadly attack to hit Cairo in two days.

Egypt’s official MENA news agency said an assailant lobbed a bomb into a chapel on Sunday close to the outer wall of St Mark’s Cathedral, the seat of Egypt’s Orthodox Christian church and home to the office of its spiritual leader, Pope Tawadros II.

On Friday, six policemen were also killed in a bomb attack in Cairo claimed by a group suspected by authorities of links to the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood.

The St Mark’s bombing was the latest in a series of attacks across the world at the weekend, with at least 30 killed in a blast in Somalia and two explosions in Istanbul claiming 38 lives.

💥 UPDATE:
Video capturing first moments after the explosion at Saint Mark’s Coptic Cathedral in Cairo. #Egypt” pic.twitter.com/AXkRzVdtHI

— Hasan Sari (@HasanSari7) December 11, 2016

No group immediately claimed responsibility for Sunday’s Cairo attack, which bore the hallmarks of Islamic militants fighting the government of President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi. 

A security official told Egyptian media a device made of TNT appeared to be the cause of the explosion. 

Some 10 per cent of the Egyptian population of 90 million are thought to identify as Coptic Christian.

St Mark’s Cathedral fell victim to an attack in 2013 that killed two and injured 84, despite high-level security. All visitors to the church are reportedly searched upon entry.

For Coptic Christians, an attack on Saint Mark’s Coptic Orthodox Cathedral is like an attack on the Vatican. #Egypt #Cairo

— Ian James Lee (@ianjameslee) December 11, 2016

Death toll from #Cairo cathedral blast rises to 26, 12kg of TNT were used. Worth mentioning this is the most secured church in #Egypt.

— Ahmed Al Saidy (@alsa3idy) December 11, 2016

Defence minister, el-Sissi led a July 2013 coup to oust Islamist President Mohammed Morsi, of the Mulsim Brotherhood.

Islamic militants launched a wave of attacks on security forces and Christians in response, as the government waged a sweeping crackdown on Morsi’s supporters.

In February this year, three Coptic Christian teenagers received a five- year jail sentence for insulting Islam.