This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/middle_east/7629171.stm

The article has changed 15 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 5 Version 6
'Eleven tourists seized' in Egypt Eleven tourists seized in Egypt
(about 2 hours later)
At least 15 people, including 11 foreign tourists, are reported to have been kidnapped in southern Egypt. Eleven European tourists have been kidnapped along with seven other people while making an off-road tour of southern Egypt.
Five Italians, five Germans and a Romanian were reported to be among the tourists, while four Egyptians were also said to have been seized. Five Italians, five Germans and a Romanian were taken along with seven travel guides and drivers.
The abduction took place near Aswan, though the details remain unclear. Reports said the abduction, near the Gilf al-Kebir plateau, was carried out by tribesmen or bandits.
Egypt's tourism minister told Reuters: "This is a gang act [by] masked men," adding that talks were underway on a ransom to release the hostages. Egypt's tourism minister said a ransom had been demanded and negotiations were under way.
The Italian foreign ministry said it had set up a crisis unit to deal with the incident. A ministry statement said: "This is an act of banditry not of terrorism."
Minister Zoheir Garana told Associated Press news agency that a ransom of up to $6m (£3.24m) had been demanded.
Israeli denial
The chief of police in Aswan told local television the tourists had been seized along with two guides, four drivers and the owner of a travel company who had organised their trip to Gilf al-Kebir, near the Libyan border.
Gilf al-Kebir is a giant plateau famous for its prehistoric cave paintings.
Local tourist guides inside southern Egypt told news agencies that the tourists were travelling in three or four off-road vehicles.
There were unconfirmed reports that the group may have been taken across the border into Sudan.There were unconfirmed reports that the group may have been taken across the border into Sudan.
But Egyptian officials said the circumstances of the abduction remained unclear. The Egyptian Mena news agency reported that the Egyptian tour company owner had called his wife on a satellite phone to say the group had been kidnapped by five masked men speaking English "with an African accent".
"We don't know yet who did this and we don't know the whereabouts of the tourists," an official told the Associated Press. The German and Italian foreign ministries confirmed that five nationals from each of their countries were among the group.
Both said they had set up crisis teams to deal with the incident.
The German ministry said its nationals had been missing since Friday.
There were initially reports that the group included Israeli tourists. But Israelis were not mentioned in later reports, and the Israeli foreign ministry denied any of its nationals were involved.There were initially reports that the group included Israeli tourists. But Israelis were not mentioned in later reports, and the Israeli foreign ministry denied any of its nationals were involved.
Kidnaps of foreigners in Egypt have been very uncommon in recent years.Kidnaps of foreigners in Egypt have been very uncommon in recent years.