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Egyptian security forces accidentally shoot dead 12 tourists and guides Egyptian security forces accidentally shoot dead 12 tourists and guides
(about 3 hours later)
At least a dozen tourists and their guides have been killed in what is reported to be an accidental attack on their convoy by Egyptian security forces. At least two Mexicans and 10 others have died after their vehicles were accidentally attacked by Egyptian security forces in the country’s western desert.
Some of the tourists are reported to be Mexican and as many as 10 other passengers in a convoy of four cars are said to have been injured. The Egyptian interior ministry said a joint policy and military force was “chasing terrorist elements” in the area when it “accidentally engaged four four-wheel drives belonging to a Mexican tourist group”.
It said 12 had been killed and 10 injured in the shooting, understood to have taken place at the Bahariya oasis around 4pm on Sunday, local time.
Mexico’s foreign ministry said two of the victims and at least five of the injured were Mexican nationals, but was “confirming the identities of other possible victims”.
“Mexico condemns these acts against our citizens and has called on the government of Egypt for a thorough investigation of what happened,” Mexico’s president, Enrique Peña Nieto, said in a statement on social media.
Related: Egyptian forces kill tourists and guides 'while chasing terrorists' – rolling reportRelated: Egyptian forces kill tourists and guides 'while chasing terrorists' – rolling report
A statement from Egyptian interior ministry said while police and armed forces were pursuing “terrorist elements” they had accidentally engaged with a tourist convoy. An Egyptian human rights lawyer, Amr Imam, told the Guardian that one his relatives, Awad Fathi, was among six Egyptians killed in the convoy.
The ministry statement claimed the tourists should not have been in that area and their presence there was “illegal”. He said Fathi, 37, was a manager and tour guide operator at the Kisr al-Buwati Hotel in the Bahariya oasis, a popular tourist stop around 370km south of Cairo.
“A joint force from the police and military, whilst chasing terrorist elements in the oasis area of the Western desert tonight, accidentally engaged four four-wheel drives belonging to a Mexican tourist group,” the ministry said. A spokesman for the Egyptian tourism ministry said the tour group did not have the correct permits to be in the area and that their presence was “illegal”.
“The incident resulted in the death of 12 Mexicans and Egyptians and the injury of 10 others who have been transferred to hospitals.” “A working group has been formed to examine the causes and circumstances of the incident as well as the justification for the presence of a tourist group in a region to which access is prohibited,” the interior ministry said in a statement.
The statement added that the wounded had been taken to hospital and an investigation had been launched into the circumstances. The Mexican government said the injured had been taken to Dar-el-Fouad hospital in Giza, south-west of central Cairo, where they were being attended to by consular staff.
The Mexican government later confirmed two nationals had been killed and five injured. The foreign ministry said consular representatives are at the el Hospital Dar-el-Fouad in suburban Cairo where the wounded are being treated.
President Enrique Pena Nieto tweeted his condemnation of the attack saying: “In a tragic incident in Egypt, Mexican tourists were attacked. I deeply regret that people have lost their lives.”
En un trágico incidente en Egipto, turistas mexicanos fueron atacados. Lamento profundamente que connacionales hayan perdido la vida.
Egypt is battling an insurgency that gained pace after the military ousted the Islamist president Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood in mid-2013 after mass protests against his rule.Egypt is battling an insurgency that gained pace after the military ousted the Islamist president Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood in mid-2013 after mass protests against his rule.
The insurgency, mounted by Islamic State’s Egyptian affiliate, has killed hundreds of soldiers and police and has started to attack western targets.The insurgency, mounted by Islamic State’s Egyptian affiliate, has killed hundreds of soldiers and police and has started to attack western targets.
Earlier on Sunday Islamic State released a statement carried by its supporters on Twitter saying it had repelled an attack by the Egyptian military in the Western desert, a recent development for the insurgency that had been largely based in the Sinai peninsula with occasional attacks taking place in Cairo and other cities.Earlier on Sunday Islamic State released a statement carried by its supporters on Twitter saying it had repelled an attack by the Egyptian military in the Western desert, a recent development for the insurgency that had been largely based in the Sinai peninsula with occasional attacks taking place in Cairo and other cities.
Egypt’s economy is traditionally driven by tourism but arrivals have plummeted as the country tries to recover from years of political and economic chaos.Egypt’s economy is traditionally driven by tourism but arrivals have plummeted as the country tries to recover from years of political and economic chaos.
About 10 million tourists visited in 2014, down sharply from a 2010 figure of almost 15 million people who visited the country with its archaeological sites and Red Sea resorts.About 10 million tourists visited in 2014, down sharply from a 2010 figure of almost 15 million people who visited the country with its archaeological sites and Red Sea resorts.