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Suicide bomber targets Egyptian tourist city of Luxor Egypt says terror attack foiled at tourist city of Luxor
(35 minutes later)
A suicide bomber blew himself up in the parking lot of Karnak temple in the southern Egyptian city of Luxor on Wednesday, security sources and witnesses said, in an escalation of recent attacks on tourist sites. Egypt’s interior ministry says security forces have foiled a terrorist attack in the tourist city of Luxor after a suicide bomber blew himself up in the parking lot of the Karnak temple and two other men were killed by police.
No group immediately claimed responsibility but Islamist militants bent on toppling the Cairo government have killed hundreds of police and soldiers in the past, usually at checkpoints and barracks or police stations. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attempted attack but Islamist militants bent on toppling the Cairo government have killed hundreds of police and soldiers in the past, usually at checkpoints and barracks or police stations. Extremists in Sinai have targeted tourism sites to try to deny the government a key source of revenue.
A health ministry spokesman said four Egyptians were wounded. Security sources said casualties included bazaar shop owners and police. An interior ministry source told the state news agency Mena that no tourists were injured.A health ministry spokesman said four Egyptians were wounded. Security sources said casualties included bazaar shop owners and police. An interior ministry source told the state news agency Mena that no tourists were injured.
Officials said three armed men tried to storm a barricade that leads to the Karnak temple site. Two men left the car and engaged in gunfire with police, who killed them. The third man in the car managed to overcome the barricade and blew himself up.Officials said three armed men tried to storm a barricade that leads to the Karnak temple site. Two men left the car and engaged in gunfire with police, who killed them. The third man in the car managed to overcome the barricade and blew himself up.
Tourism is one of the top sources of income and foreign currency earnings for the Arab world’s most populous country. The attack was the first to target the world-famous attractions in Luxor since November 1997, when Islamic militants opened fire on tourists at the city’s 3,400-year-old Hatshepsut Temple on the west bank of the Nile, killing 58.
Gunmen on a motorcycle shot dead two members of Egypt’s tourism and antiquities police force on a road near the Giza pyramids last week. Tourism is the lifeblood of Luxor, home to some of Egypt’s most famous ancient temples and pharaonic tombs, including that of King Tutankhamun. The city has been hit hard by a downturn in foreign visitors during the years of unrest since Egypt’s 2011 uprising.
Last week gunmen on a motorcycle shot dead two members of Egypt’s tourism and antiquities police force on a road near the Giza pyramids.
Last year, the Sinai-based insurgent group Ansar Beit al-Maqdis pledged allegiance to Islamic State, which has destroyed famed archaeological sites in Syria and Iraq, viewing them as idolatrous.
The campaign of violence in Sinai accelerated and spread to other parts of Egypt following the 2013 military overthrow of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi.