Egyptian forces kill 40 suspected militants after tourist bus bomb

AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): Egyptian security forces have killed 40 suspected militants in three separate raids in north Sinai and Giza, a day after a bomb attack on a tourist bus near the Giza pyramids that killed four people.

It was unclear whether the raids were directly connected to Friday’s attack. Egypt’s interior ministry said only that 30 of those killed during two raids on hideouts in Giza were “terrorist elements” planning attacks on state, tourist Christian targets.

“Information was received by national security that a group of terrorists were planning to carry out a series of aggressive attacks targeting state institutions, particularly economic ones, as well as tourism, armed forces, police and Christian places of worship,” the statement said.

Police found a large number of weapons, ammunition and bomb-making materials, it added.

Security forces also killed 10 suspected militants in the north Sinai capital, Arish, where the country is fighting an insurgency led by ISIS.

The Egyptian state news agency MENA said the suspects, described as “terrorists seeking to intimidate Egyptians”, were killed in a gun battle. It did not say whether there had been any casualties or injuries among the security forces.

The raids follow the deaths of three Vietnamese tourists and their Egyptian tour guide in the bus attack on Friday. Eleven other Vietnamese people and the vehicle’s Egyptian driver were injured in the blast after the detonation of an improvised explosive device reportedly hidden near a wall on the outskirts of Cairo. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

It was the first attack on foreign tourists in Egypt in more than a year, after security forces launched a campaign against militant groups in the Sinai peninsula, southern areas and the border with Libya.


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