Egypt ‘mistakenly’ kills 12 tourists in anti-terror raid

CAIRO

Egyptian security forces have mistakenly killed 12 tourists in a counter-terrorism raid conducted in the Western Desert near the border with Libya.

In a Monday statement, the Interior Ministry said that a joint police/army force had engaged four vehicles that had entered a restricted zone in the area’s Wahat region “while chasing terrorist elements”.

“Twelve people were killed and 10 others were injured in the attack,” the ministry said, noting that it had since established a fact-finding committee to investigate the incident.

Sources said that eight Mexicans were among those killed in the attack.

The Mexican Foreign Ministry, meanwhile, confirmed that at least two Mexican tourists had been killed and five others injured in the attack.

“Mexico condemns these acts against our citizens and has called on the government of Egypt to launch a thorough investigation of what happened,” Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto said in a statement.

Egypt’s Tourism Ministry, for its part, said the tourists had been in an off-limit area and had been using unlicensed vehicles for a safari expedition that had not been approved by the local authorities.

- Apology

Outgoing Prime Minister Ibrahim Mehleb has apologized to the Mexican ambassador over the death of Mexican tourists in the incident.

"The government offers its apology over the death of foreign victims," he told reporters, noting that he contacted the Mexican ambassador to apologize for the incident.

He said that the incident took place "by mistake" as part of the country's fight against terrorism.

Egypt has been roiled by turmoil since the military ousted Mohamed Morsi – the country's first freely elected president – in a 2013 coup.

In the more than two years since, militants have mounted numerous attacks on Egyptian security forces, particularly in the restive Sinai Peninsula, which shares borders with both Israel and the Gaza Strip.