Egypt Updates: Dispute over Alexandria "Suspect"; Copts Celebrate New Year

2015 GMT: Video of tonight's gathering in downtown Cairo to mourn the victims of the Alexandria bombing. Some chanted slogans against the Government holding it responsible for the tragedy, others held a candle and mourned in silence.

1525 GMT: The family of Sayyad Bilal, who died on Wednesday in Alexandria after he was arrested the previous night, have accused Egyptian police of killing him.

No official reason was given for Bilal's detention, but the family believes it was connected to protests over the 1 January bombing outside the Al-Qiddissine church.

Ibrahim Bilal said his 31-year-old brother's body bore the marks of torture. He believes his brother was arrested "because he is a Salafist [a follower of an Islamic movement]".

Security sources told Al Jazeera earlier today that up to 300 Salafist members are now in custody and are being questioned.

1425 GMT: People are now gathering on a bridge in Cairo, reading the Bible and Qur'an for the victims of the 1 January bombing in Alexandria.

1050 GMT: Egyptian newspapers report on a "trouble-free" celebration of Christian New Year by both Copts and Muslims, including celebrities, foreign dignitaries, and Government ministers.

Meanwhile, there is confusion over the release by Egyptian officials of a sketch that they claim is of the suspected bomber outside the Al-Qiddissine church in Alexandria on New Year's Day.

On Thursday, the Minister of Interior put out a drawing of the face of a man in his 20s, but Dr. Ahmed El-Sebaay, the head of Egypt’s forensic medical authority, has said his staff had nothing to do with it. El-Sebaay said that Egypt does not have facial formation technology and that the sketch could not have be created unless the skull was intact.

An Egyptian official claimed half a skull was found at the site of the bombing and used as the basis for the reconstruction of the other half. 

Authorities continue to put out claims, claiming that DNA tests on the body suspected to be that of the bomber indicates he is from the Delta region, north of Cairo. Further investigation indicates he was a university graduate with no permanent job, who left his family home about one year ago.

Previous statements by government officials said the bomber was of Afghan origin.