Haunting footage captures an ISIS suicide bomber calmly strolling into a Cairo church before killing 25 Christians in a savage attack

Abu Abdallah al-Masri detonated a 12kg bomb killing 25 on Sunday
Six children and 19 adults, mostly women, killed and 49 were wounded
Now the Egyptian government has released footage showing the bombing

Published: 17:10 GMT, 13 December 2016 | Updated: 22:25 GMT, 13 December 2016

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Horrifying footage showing the moment an ISIS suicide bomber killed 25 Christians at a Cairo church has been released by the Egyptian government.

Abu Abdallah al-Masri detonated a 12kg bomb targeting Cairo's main Coptic Christian community, killing six children and 19 adults who were mostly women.

A further 49 were wounded in the savage attack on Sunday.

On the move: The bomber walked behind the trees on his way into the church

Now, the Egyptian government has released footage showing the bombing which appears to capture the 22-year-old terrorist in the act.

The video is a recording of CCTV footage from outside a chapel adjacent to St. Mark's Cathedral, seat of Egypt's ancient Coptic Orthodox Church.

It shows a dark figure crossing the street and walking through the gates of the church.

Moments later, the blast sends clouds of dust and debris through the windows.

It was among the deadliest attacks in recent memory to target Egypt's Coptic minority, which makes up around 10 percent of the population and was largely supportive of the military overthrow of a freely elected Islamist president in 2013.

El-Sissi led the ouster of President Mohammed Morsi, a senior figure in the now outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group.

Shocking: The moment of detonation shows the church go up in smoke

The terrorist targeted the section of the church packed with women and children before detonating their bomb

A nun inside the cathedral looked shellshocked, pictured, and could not hold back her tears after the deadly attack

Since then, Islamic militants have carried out scores of attacks, mainly targeting the security forces, while the government has waged a wide-scale crackdown on dissent.

Small protests were held outside the church in the aftermath of the attack, as Christians accused the government of failing to protect them, a complaint that goes back many years.

Officials and government supporters have touted the quick identification of the suspected bomber as proof of the efficiency of the security bodies, but Christian activist Nader Shokry said more could have been done to prevent the attack.

'How did all this planning take place without the security knowing about it?' he said. 'You are saying that this person belongs to a terror group and has been previously arrested... So you should have kept a close eye on him.'

A 12kg bomb detonated inside a church beside St Mark's Cathedral in Cairo this morning in the city centre

The Interior Ministry said late Monday that the attacker belonged to a terror cell founded by an Egyptian doctor and funded by Muslim Brotherhood leaders living in exile in Qatar. It said the cell was tasked with staging attacks that would stir sectarian strife.

But Islamic state has claimed responsibility for the bombing in a statement released on Tuesday.

Three men and a woman were arrested in connection with Sunday's attack and other suspects were on the run, el-Sissi said.

The Brotherhood condemned the bombing.