“A joint police and army force were chasing terrorist elements in the western desert area of Al-Wahat and they engaged by mistake with four 4-wheel drives belonging to Mexican tourists who were present in a restricted area,” a statement from Egypt’s interior ministry read.
“The incident resulted in the death of 12 people and the injury of 10 Mexicans and Egyptians, who have been transferred to hospitals for treatment.”
The ministry did not specify the death toll of Egyptians and Mexicans apiece.
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 added.
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.
ahram.org.eg
14/9/15
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At least two Mexicans were killed, Mexico's foreign ministry said in a statement late Sunday, when Egyptian police and military inadvertently opened fire on a group of tourists in the western desert of Egypt...
ReplyDeleteMexican President Enrique Pena Nieto condemned the attack on his Twitter account, describing it as a tragic incident, and demanded a full investigation.
Egypt's police and military said they killed 12 Egyptians and Mexicans, and wounded 10, when they accidentally shot at a Mexican tourist convoy while engaging militants in the western desert.
REUTERS
La police et l'armée égyptiennes ont tué dimanche 12 personnes, des touristes mexicains et des Egyptiens, en visant par erreur leurs voitures alors qu'elles pourchassaient des djihadistes dans l'ouest de l'Egypte...
ReplyDeleteLe gouvernement mexicain a confirmé la mort d'au moins deux de ses ressortissants.
Le désert de l’Ouest égyptien, très prisé par les touristes, est aussi l’un des repaires de groupes djihadistes, dont la branche égyptienne de l’Etat islamique (EI), qui y avait décapité en août un jeune Croate travaillant pour une compagnie française et commet de nombreux attentats contre les forces de sécurité dans tout le pays.
"Les forces conjointes de la police et de l'armée, qui pourchassaient des terroristes à Wahat, dans le désert occidental, ont ouvert le feu par erreur sur quatre pick-up qui transportaient des touristes mexicains", lit-on dans un communiqué du ministère de l'Intérieur égyptien.
"Douze personnes ont été tuées et 10 blessées parmi les touristes mexicains et des Egyptiens" qui les accompagnaient, poursuit le ministère, selon qui les victimes étaient dans une zone "pas autorisée aux touristes".
Le ministère ne précise pas le nombre de Mexicains tués, ni quel type d'arme a touché les voitures.......http://sptnkne.ws/Jsd