Mexican FM in Egypt over killing of tourists

CAIRO

Mexican Foreign Minister Claudia Ruiz Massieu arrived in Cairo on Wednesday with relatives of tourists mistakenly killed by Egyptian security forces during an anti-terror raid.

Ruiz Massieu is expected to hold talks with her Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shouky to discuss the circumstances of the tourists’ killing, a diplomatic source said.

At least eight Mexican tourists and four Egyptians were killed late Sunday during an anti-terror raid in the western desert near the Libyan border.

Egyptian authorities said the tourists had entered an off-limits area and had been mistakenly killed while security forces chased militants.

Before departing to Egypt, Ruiz Massieu said that she would seek answers from the Egyptian authorities on the killings.

The Egyptian government has offered its apology to Mexico over the killings.

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.