Victims and heroes of Egypt's Palm Sunday massacre

Egypt is in a three-day mourning period after at least 44 people were killed and 118 injured in twin bombing attacks on Sunday that targeted Egypt's Coptic Christians as they celebrated Palm Sunday.

The first bombing took place inside St George's Cathedral the Nile Delta city of Tanta killing at least 27 people.

Hours later a second blast went off outside St Mark's church in Alexandria where the Coptic Pope had been leading a Palm Sunday service, killing another 17 people.

Worshippers have spoken of the horrific scenes after the bombs ripped through their churches during service, mangling bodies and destroying pews.

	Twitter users shared an image of a young unnamed altar boy [Twitter]

ِAs the first funerals are being held, the tragic stories of the innocent victims have started to emerge on social media and in the Egyptian press.

These are some of their names and stories.

In Tanta, the head of Shibin al-Kom court Samuel George was killed as he prayed during Palm Sunday mass.

"Today we have lost a shining beacon of our cathedral. He was praying with the chorus and then found himself praying among the angels in front of the almighty Lord and the Throne of God," the St George's Cathedral said in a Facebook statement.

The church released images of six of the victims and an incomplete list of the names of the victims.

On Twitter, users shared an image of a young unnamed altar boy who was allegedly killed in the Tanta attack.

In Alexandria, seven members of the police force were killed in the attack when the suicide bomber detonated his explosive vest after police stopped him from entering the church, the Ministry of Interior said in an online statement.

Three of the slain security forces were women, making them the first female police officers to die in the line of duty.

One of the women officers was Nagwa al-Haggar, whose image along with her policeman son was circulated in local media.

The attacks were the deadliest to hit the Christian community in recent memory capital. The stories of the other victims will no doubt be revealed in the coming days.