Masked gunmen, who used machine guns, opened fire at two buses carrying Egyptian Coptic Christians to a monastery south of Cairo on Friday, killing 26 mostly children and injuring 26 others, Al Arabiya News Channel reported.

A Church source told Egypt’s al-Ahram newspaper that the bus trip was for children to visit a monastery and only three has survived.

The Christian group was travelling in two buses and a truck through the province, which is home to a sizeable Christian minority, the governor of Egypt’s Minya province, Essam al-Bedaiwy, said.

The health ministry said there were between eight and 10 attackers dressed in military uniforms, according to witnesses. Meanwhile, Egyptian sources told Al Arabiya News Channel that there were 10 to 12 gunmen.