Egyptian forces kill tourists instead of terrorists
Quote:
Security forces in Egypt have mistakenly killed 12 people, including Mexican tourists, during an anti-terror operation, the interior ministry says.
The tourists were travelling in four vehicles that entered a restricted zone in the Wahat area of the Western Desert, a ministry statement said.
Ten Mexicans and Egyptians were also injured and are being treated in a local hospital.
The ministry said it had formed a team to investigate the incident.
Mexico's President Enrique Pena Nieto condemned the incident and said he had "demanded an exhaustive investigation by the Egyptian government".
The Mexican foreign ministry confirmed that at least two of its nationals had been killed and said it was working to confirm the identities of the other victims.
In a statement, it said Mexico's ambassador in Egypt, Jorge Alvarez Fuentes, had visited the local hospital and spoken to five Mexicans who were in a stable condition.
The statement (in Arabic) from Egypt's interior ministry said the four vehicles the tourists were travelling in were "mistakenly dealt with" during a joint military police and armed forces operation. It said the incident happened on Sunday in an area that "was off limits to foreign tourists", but it did not give an exact location.
The group of tourists was preparing to camp out in the vast Western Desert when they came under fire.
According to the interior ministry's statement, the security forces were pursuing Islamic militants in the desert, and targeted the four vehicles which were away from the main road with an Apache helicopter, which shot and hit the four vehicles.
The tour company transporting the tourists "did not have permits and did not inform authorities", tourism ministry spokesman Rasha Azaz told the Associated Press news agency.
But a local source - who claims to have spoken to one of the drivers for the tour group - told the BBC that they had liaised with the authorities and even had a police escort.
The vast Western Desert area is popular with foreign sightseers, but is also attractive to militants, reports the BBC's Orla Guerin in Cairo.
Okay so in 2008, I went to El-Alamein, Egypt, on vacation, and me and my mom (nudist) decided to walk past the end of the resort's beach. We ended up entering a military area, and a jeep full of militars stopped by to admire my mom then they told us to go back. I was scared for my life
Okay so in 2008, I went to El-Alamein, Egypt, on vacation, and me and my mom (nudist) decided to walk past the end of the resort's beach. We ended up entering a military area, and a jeep full of militars stopped by to admire my mom then they told us to go back. I was scared for my life