(Newswire.net — September 14, 2015) — Due to the presence of the IS militants, many tourist organizations worldwide removed Egypt from the list of recommended destinations for going on vacation. Unfortunately, some tourist agencies didn’t take the threat seriously enough, which cost the lives of their citizens.
At least 12 people were killed and 10 injured when a convoy transporting Foreigners, later identified as the tourists from Mexico, through Egypt’s Western Desert was mistakenly attacked by the military who were on a seek and destroy mission nearby, the Guardian reported.
“A joint force from the police and military, whilst chasing terrorist elements in the oasis area of the western desert tonight, accidentally engaged four four-wheel drives belonging to a Mexican tourist group,” Egypt’s Ministry of Interior said in a statement on Monday.
“The incident resulted in the death of 12 Mexicans and Egyptians and the injury of 10 others who have been transferred to hospitals,” the statement reads.
According to the Rasha Azazi, a spokesperson for the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism, the tour company involved “did not have permits and did not inform authorities,” The Associated Press learned. However, a local tour guide told BBC that the Mexican tourists were not in a restricted area.
“It is not possible they [tourists] had security personnel but no permission,” the BBC’s journalist reported on the incident. He quoted one of the guides on Bahariya – is that they coordinate with the military personnel there, that they have a group and they are taking them to a specific area in the white desert and the military knows they are going to this area and they just coordinate verbally, without official a permission.”
Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto has condemned the tragic incident and demanded a thorough investigation.
According to the Interior Ministry of Egypt, earlier the same day, IS-affiliated Ansar Bait Al-Maqdis militants attacked Egyptian forces near the location where the Mexican tourists were headed.
The locations attractive for tourists are one of the favorite targets of the IS terrorists for kidnapping andransom, especially people from the rich western countries. It is one of the ways the jihadists finance their operations.