Minya bus shooting: Donald Trump says 'bloodletting of Christians must end' after 28 die in Egypt gun attack

At least 28 Coptic Christians were killed by masked gunmen in Egypt

Dead bodies lay covered in black plastic sheets in the aftermath of the attack (AP)

Donald Trump has said "the bloodletting of Christians must end" in a statement responding to the attack on Coptic Christians in Egypt.

In the harshly worded statement, Mr Trump described a war between civilization and terrorists, and called on people to rise up against terrorist attack and "defeat this evil."

"This merciless slaughter of Christians in Egypt tears at our hearts and grieves our souls. Wherever innocent blood is spilled, a wound is inflicted upon humanity," Mr Trump said. "But this attack also steels our resolve to bring nations together for the righteous purpose of crushing the evil organisations of terror, and exposing their depraved, twisted, and thuggish ideology."

Mr Trump is in the middle of his first foreign trip as president, and has repeatedly warned foreign allies of the dangers of terrorism. He has urged greater cooperation from Nato allies battling extremism in countries like Syria, and has called on civilised countries in the Middle East to push out radical ideologies.

At least 28 people were killed and another 23 others were injured in Egypt after gunmen wearing fatigues and face masks open-fired on a bus carrying Coptic Christians. The group was travelling to the St Samuel the Confessor monastery around 100km northwest of the city of Minya, according to Egypt's foreign ministry. It wasn't immediately clear who was responsible for the attack, which the ministry said was an act of terrorism.

That deadly shooting comes after twin attacks on Coptic churches on Palm Sunday that killed dozens of people, and put the country under a three-month state of emergency.

Life in Egypt has become increasingly dangerous for Coptic Christians, who make up about 10 percent of the country's population and base their theology on the teachings of the apostle who introduced Christianity to Egypt, Mark. Another attack on a Coptic church in Cairo killed 25 people, while Coptic churches and homes have been set on fire in the country. Individual Coptic minorities have been physically attacked and have had their property stolen, Amnesty International has said.