Gunmen have attacked a bus carrying Coptic Christians in southern Egypt, killing at least seven people, a church official says.

No group has immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.

Fourteen others were injured when gunmen started shooting at the bus after intercepting it en route to St Samuel monastery in the southern province of Minya, church spokesman Bishop Boulis Halim told dpa.

There was no immediate comment from police.

Egypt has seen a spate of militant attacks since 2013, when the army deposed Islamist president Mohammad Morsi, the country’s first democratically elected leader, following mass protests against his rule.

Several of the attacks have targeted Christians and churches.