Egypt Attack On Tourist Bus Near Pyramids Injures At Least 14 (#GotBitcoin?)
Blast is second attack on tourists in the country in five months. Egypt Attack On Tourist Bus Near Pyramids Injures At Least 14 (#GotBitcoin?)
A roadside bomb targeted a sightseeing bus near Egypt’s famed Pyramids on Sunday, injuring at least 14 people, an attack on one of the most visited sites in the country that threatens its vital tourism industry.
A device exploded near the bus, carrying 25 tourists from South Africa, close to the Giza pyramids and a major national museum that is under construction in the area. The blast also hit a nearby car injuring four Egyptians, according to the Ministry of Interior.
Photos broadcast by state media showed bleeding people getting out of a bus. The images couldn’t be immediately verified.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.
The blast is the second attack on tourists in Egypt in five months. In December, a bomb attack on a sightseeing bus near the pyramids in Giza killed four people and wounded 12 others.
The U.S. Embassy in Cairo said they were not aware of any injuries to American citizens at this time, advising to avoid going to the area.
Militants have staged a series of attacks in recent years that have included targeting tourists.
In 2015, Islamic State claimed responsibility for a bomb attack that brought down a Russian passenger jet over the Sinai, killing all 224 people aboard.
Tourism accounts for nearly 20% of the country’s gross domestic product, according to the tourism ministry, which noted a recovery in the sector in 2018 after years of setbacks caused by political turmoil and security risks.
Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi vowed to secure the country after he came to power in a military coup backed by protests in 2013 that overthrew the country’s first freely elected president Mohammed Morsi.
For years, the Egyptian military has waged war on an active Islamic State insurgency in the northern Sinai Peninsula. Under Mr. Sisi, the government has also used the security situation as a pretext for a crackdown on political opposition.
Mr. Sisi was elected for a second presidential term in March 2018 and could rule until 2030 according to new constitutional amendments expanding his power that passed in a public referendum last month.
Terror attacks have decreased over the past year and a half, but religious minorities and tourists have remained targets of militant assaults. In February, a rare suicide bombing near Cairo’s famous Khan Al-Khalili market killed at least three policemen in another attack near a tourist location.
Several countries, including the U.S., continue to have travel alerts for Egypt due to terrorism threats. The Egyptian government maintains a heavy security presence at major tourist sites.
The new Grand Egyptian Museum near the pyramids of Giza showcasing antiquities is set to be inaugurated in 2020 and has been promoted by the government as a means of boosting the country’s tourism industry. Egypt Attack On Tourist
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