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You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2015/sep/14/egyptian-forces-kill-tourists-and-guides-while-chasing-terrorist-elements
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| Egyptian forces kill tourists and guides 'while chasing terrorists' – rolling report | Egyptian forces kill tourists and guides 'while chasing terrorists' – rolling report |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| 2.32am BST02:32 | |
| Here’s a map showing where we understand this incident to have taken place. Despite the Egyptian government’s claim that the tourists were in the area illegally, the western desert’s oases - Bahreya, Farafirah, Kharga and Dakhla - have attracted sightseers for decades. | |
| Updated at 2.35am BST | |
| 2.27am BST02:27 | |
| We’re still unclear on how many Egyptians and Mexicans were killed, as well as the exact location of the shootings. I’ve just spoken to someone in the Bahariya oasis who claims the shooting was close by, but that has not been confirmed. | |
| The area has been riven by conflict between Egypt’s military and Islamist militants. Ahram Online has this background: | |
| The vast Western desert, which is the gateway to volatile and lawless Libya, has been exploited by militants affiliated to the Islamic State group, who mainly target security forces in Sinai on Egypt’s eastern borders. | |
| Last month five Egyptian troops died when their helicopter crashed while chasing “terrorists” in the Siwa oasis in the Western desert. An army spokesman said that was due to a “technical failure”. | |
| At least 21 Egyptian soldiers were killed in July 2014 when gunmen attacked a military checkpoint in the New Valley governorate, also in the Western desert. | |
| “An inspection team was formed to identify what happened and why the tourist convoy was present in the aforementioned restricted area,” the interior ministry statement said. | |
| Hundreds of police and army soldiers have been killed by militants since the July 2013 overthrow of President Mohamed Morsi, with the Islamic State-affiliated Sinai Province group claiming responsibility for many of the major attacks. | |
| Read the full piece here | |
| Updated at 2.33am BST | |
| 2.03am BST02:03 | 2.03am BST02:03 |
| Via Reuters, a little background on the unrest in Egypt – including about a tweet by Islamic State militants earlier on Sunday claiming they had “repelled” an attack by security forces in the same (admittedly vast) area. | |
| Egypt is battling an insurgency that gained pace after the military ousted Islamist President Mohamed Mursi 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 Islamist President Mohamed Mursi 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. | |
| 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. | |
| Updated at 2.31am BST | |
| 2.00am BST02:00 | 2.00am BST02:00 |
| Here’s our first take on this developing story out of Egypt. | Here’s our first take on this developing story out of Egypt. |
| 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 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. |
| 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. | |
| A statement from Egyptian interior ministry said while police and armed forces were pursuing “terrorist elements” they accidentally engaged with a tourist convoy. | |
| The ministry statement claimed the tourists should not have been in that area and their presence there was “illegal”. | The ministry statement claimed the tourists should not have been in that area and their presence there was “illegal”. |
| Read the full story here | Read the full story here |
| Updated at 2.30am BST | |
| 1.53am BST01:53 | 1.53am BST01:53 |
| Welcome to our rolling coverage of the shooting of 12 Mexicans and Egyptians in Egypt’s Western desert by the country’s security forces. | |
| Egypt’s interior ministry has issued this statement confirming the deaths, which it said was accidental. | |
| 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. | 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 incident resulted in the death of 12 Mexicans and Egyptians and the injury of 10 others who have been transferred to hospitals. | The incident resulted in the death of 12 Mexicans and Egyptians and the injury of 10 others who have been transferred to hospitals. |
| Stay with us for more on this developing story. | Stay with us for more on this developing story. |
| Updated at 2.31am BST |