Mass held at bombed Egyptian church

An Egyptian Christian mourns upon arrival at the Al-Qiddissine (The Saints) church in Alexandria [AFP]

Congregants were back praying in a church targeted a day earlier in a bomb blast that killed 21 and wounded 97 people.

Dozens attended Sunday Mass at Al-Qiddissine church in Egypt's Mediterranean port city of Alexandria while riot police backed by armored vehicles were deployed outside.

The service was marked by the grief and anger felt by a congregation devastated by the attack, which took place on Saturday outside the church's door about 30 minutes into the New Year.

Many sobbed while others cried hysterically, screamed in anger or slapped themselves.

"We spend every feast in grief," Sohair Fawzy, who lost two sisters and a niece in the attack, said.

Grim reminders of the attack remained in the church a day after the bombing. Its ground floor was stained with the blood of victims brought inside immediately after the attack.

Two statues of Christ and the Virgin Mary were toppled and the benches were scattered by the impact of the blast. And a "2011" sign hung on the inside of the church's door was torn apart.

The attack Saturday was the worst violence against Egypt's Christian minority in a decade.

It sparked clashes between riot police and Christians who say the government hasn't done enough to protect them.

The Copts are the biggest Christian community in the Middle East and account for up to 10 per cent of Egypt's 80 million population.