Diego Tahir, founder and chair of the National Union of Hajj Organization in Egypt, has denounced the attacks.

“The terrorists don’t want this country to remain a peaceful place,” he told Al Arabiya. “They want a state without security or security guards.”

The attacks come at a time of heightened tension at Cairo’s international airport, with attacks by a variety of Islamist groups that have killed dozens of people in recent months. Earlier this month, a suicide bomber drove a truck into a crowded police checkpoint in north of the capital.

Many of the attacks have targeted security forces and police, but the security forces have also been the target of attacks. In December, masked armed bombers killed 10 security personnel in Egypt and one bystander in the Sinai Peninsula.

The attacks have caused fear and increased tension in an otherwise relatively calm country.

An Egyptian security officer gestures outside the air base where three planes and a helicopter were destroyed by a suicide bomber, near the port city of Alexandria, Egypt, Jan. 7, 2017. REUTERS/Abed Omar 13/25/2017 10:05 AM EST

Hajj is the main event during Muslims’ holy month of Ramadan, and Egyptians are typically seen by other Muslim countries as more religious and conservative than non-Muslims. The bombings have raised the stakes for the world’s most important tourist destination.

In Cairo, worshippers began leaving the city’s St. Mark’s Coptic Cathedral early, afraid of the violence, which was being treated as an explosion at a security checkpoint before it became apparent a car bomb had gone off there.

Security forces cleared the area quickly and no one was injured.

Islamic State group claimed responsibility for Saturday night’s attacks, although the group has not yet officially claimed responsibility. Islamic State has called the attacks on the airbase and Cairo’s airport “a message to the crusaders.”

Egypt’s military, though, had claimed earlier that no militant group had claimed responsibility and the attacks had been a random act.

Islamic State group has gained territory in Syria and Iraq in recent years, and some militants have moved to Egypt, where members fight alongside militants in Syria and Iraq against Egyptian forces.

In a statement after the attack, U.S. President Donald Trump said America was outraged and condemned “in the strongest possible terms this despicable act.”

Egypt’s new government, which took power on July 3, has