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The state security agency has launched "a state of high alert"Ìýin search of "a terrorist group allegedly responsible for the recent systematic attacks ÌýCoptic Orthodox churches across Egypt," a high-level security source claimed to °®Âþµº.

The source's statements leadÌýmore weight toÌýthe growing belief in the Egyptian streetÌýthat "foul play" was involved in the recent fires.Ìý

The Egyptian authorities have thus farÌý any criminal intent behind the incidents, despite six similar fires flaring upÌýin a matter of eight days in the Egyptian capital, in Giza provinceÌýwest of Cairo, in southern Egypt and the Mediterranean city of Alexandria.ÌýMost of the fires, according to officials, wereÌý by a short circuit in a power generator.

"After inspecting and analysing the crime scenes of the burned down churches and the operations carried out against Christians in Egypt, it turned out that the perpetrators were the same in each one, carrying out similar steps each time,"Ìýthe source said toÌý°®Âþµº, on condition of anonymity as they are unauthorised to speak to the media.

According to the source, a report prepared by the terrorist activity department at the state security agency outlines how theÌýincidents were carefully planned and were not random.Ìý

The first church that broke out on 14 July, which killedÌý41 dead, including the priest and 15 children, coincidedÌýwith the ninth anniversary of the Rabaa .ÌýThe official narrative was that the fire resulted from an electrical fault in a power generator.

In 2013, hundreds of supporters of the Muslim BrotherhoodÌýheld sit-ins in the Rabaa neighbourhood in Cairo and Nahda in Giza to demand the return of the first democratically-elected president Mohamed Morsi, who was deposed by the then-defence minister Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi.

Security forces then cracked down on the sit-in, killingÌýhundreds of protesters. The Muslim BrotherhoodÌýwas thenÌýdeemed illegal in Egypt inÌý2014.

However, it remains unclear whether the massacre's anniversary has anything to do with the sudden fires.

Meanwhile, the source said that coordination has begun between different security authorities in the country, including the general intelligence agency,Ìýto detect, monitorÌýand apprehend the alleged terrorist group.

Sectarian violence in EgyptÌýoccasionally erupts, mainly in rural communities in the south. Islamist extremists have also targeted Christians in the past. Christians make up approximately 10 to 15 per cent of the 103Ìýmillion population of Muslim-majority Egypt.

Before the fires, Christians suffered other forms of assault. Last month, two knife-yielding men an Orthodox Coptic owner of a warehouse of alcoholic beverages and his sonÌýin Giza province, leaving both in critical condition.

Earlier in April, a man killed a Coptic priest at aÌýseaside promenade in Alexandria. He wasÌýÌýto death by a criminal court in the same month.

Most of Egypt's Christians are Coptic Orthodox and areÌýamong the world's oldest Christian communities.Ìý