CAIRO - Egyptian security authorities quashed reports that a suicide bomber, who detonated himself outside an Alexandria church on New Year's Eve, was identified as a Pakistani man, calling on media outlets to stick to accuracy in their reports. "Reports that the suicide bomber was identified by a man and that the police were following three other Pakistanis involved in the blast are not true," an Alexandria security official said. He added that secrecy was shrouding investigations on Alexandria's Al-Qiddissein (Two Saints) Church as local and foreign media reports were baseless. "To maintain the public interest, all media are requested to be accurate in publishing everything related to the bombing," the official was quoted by the official Middle East News Agency (MENA) as saying. The interior minister has released a digital sketch created by the forensic authorities of the man suspected to be behind the New Year's Eve church bombing. The bomber is believed to have been a foreigner between 23 and 25 years old. Some local newspapers published reports that a man filed a report against the alleged suicide bomber in Alexandria just three days ahead of the bombing and that the suspect was accompanied by three other Pakistanis in a black car near the toll gate on the Cairo-Alexandria desert road. The bombing left 23 people dead and at least 100 injured. Daily protests since the attack have taken place throughout the country, with a number of both Muslim and Christian demonstrators injured in clashes with police and others arrested. A forensic report on the details of the blast is expected to be submitted to prosecutors next week as examination of some parts of the bomb and the scene of the crime is still under way. "We have not determined the date to submit our report. All we have finished is the DNA analysis for the victims," said el-Sebai Ahmed, the head of the Forensic Authority. Meanwhile, State Security Police arrested four Russian Muslims, who were praying in an Alexandria mosques over suspicion of being involved in the bombing, according to a security official. "We have been posted on the presence of the five Russians in el-Baramawy Mosque, in el-Raml. We nabbed four as the fifth fled," the official said on condition of anonymity. Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, meanwhile, on Wednesday condemned violence against Christians in Egypt, adding his voice to a growing list of leaders who have expressed concern. "Italy believes that the sorrowful attack against the Coptic church of Alexandria was a serious episode of terrorism, which has hit the entire Egyptian community and its moderate leadership," Berlusconi said in a statement. Thursday he phoned President Hosni Mubarak and pledged solidarity with Egypt against terror, according to MENA.
