admin
Egyptian security forces have killed 12 people, including Mexican tourists, after mistakenly targeting their convoy while pursuing fighters in the country’s Western Desert. A joint police and military operation on Sunday “chasing terrorist elements” in Al Wahat “mistakenly” targeted four pick-up trucks carrying Mexican tourists, the interior ministry said. The Mexican foreign ministry confirmed the incident and said at least two of the dead were Mexican nationals.
It said in a statement that the victims were still being identified, and foreign ministry personnel were working with the families of the victims. Al Jazeera’s John Holman, reporting from Oaxaca in Mexico, said that the Mexican government demanded a thorough investigation into the incident.
“President Enrique Pena Nieto on Twitter condemned the incident. He also said that he is adding to the diplomatic personnel in Egypt to attend to the people that have been injured.” Egypt did not give an exact breakdown of the casualties but said “the incident led to the death of 12 Mexicans and Egyptians and wounding of 10 others.
“The area they were in was off limits to foreign tourists,” it added. The Mexican ambassador had visited five other nationals being treated at the Dar al-Fouad Hospital in a western Cairo suburb, where they were listed in stable condition, according to the Mexican foreign ministry.
The ministry gave few details about what happened, saying an “undetermined” number of Mexican tourists were attacked “in circumstances that are still not clear”. Egypt’s interior ministry did not indicate whether the tourists were targeted with automatic weapons or aerial bombardment during the operation against fighters on the Al Wahat district. Meanwhile, an Egypt armed group pledged allegiance to ISIL
The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group in Egypt said in a statement that it had “resisted a military operation in the Western Desert” on Sunday. The vast Western Desert, popular with tourists for its oases and rock formations, is also a hideout for armed groups.
Last month the Egyptian branch of the ISIL group beheaded a young Croatian there who was working for a French company and have also launched numerous attacks against security forces. — Al Jazeera
Online Reporter