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| Egypt says terror attack foiled at temple in tourist city of Luxor | Egypt says terror attack foiled at temple in tourist city of Luxor |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Egypt’s security forces said they foiled a suicide bomb attack at the ancient Karnak temple in the southern city of Luxor on Wednesday. | Egypt’s security forces said they foiled a suicide bomb attack at the ancient Karnak temple in the southern city of Luxor on Wednesday. |
| Luxor police said officers opened fire on three men after they had refused to undergo security screening at a checkpoint near the site. Police shot two attackers as they pulled out weapons concealed in their bags, killing one and seriously wounding another, according to officers at the scene. A third attacker managed to detonate a bomb he was carrying and died. | |
| A health ministry spokesman said four Egyptians were wounded. Security sources told Reuters that the injured included bazaar shop owners and police. No tourists were injured, according to interior ministry officials cited by the state news agency Mena. | A health ministry spokesman said four Egyptians were wounded. Security sources told Reuters that the injured included bazaar shop owners and police. No tourists were injured, according to interior ministry officials cited by the state news agency Mena. |
| No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attempted attack – a rare incident at one of Egypt’s iconic ancient ruins and a top tourist destination. | No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attempted attack – a rare incident at one of Egypt’s iconic ancient ruins and a top tourist destination. |
| Egypt has been shaken by a wave of attacks by militants since the military deposed Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in July 2013. The majority of those attacks have been targeted at members of the security forces, usually at checkpoints and barracks or police stations. | Egypt has been shaken by a wave of attacks by militants since the military deposed Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in July 2013. The majority of those attacks have been targeted at members of the security forces, usually at checkpoints and barracks or police stations. |
| Since 2013 the attacks have been concentrated in the Sinai peninsula, the Nile delta, and greater Cairo. Militants in Sinai have targeted tourism sites to try to deny the government a key source of revenue. | Since 2013 the attacks have been concentrated in the Sinai peninsula, the Nile delta, and greater Cairo. Militants in Sinai have targeted tourism sites to try to deny the government a key source of revenue. |
| Egypt’s deadliest armed group, the Sinai-based Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, declared its allegiance to Islamic State in 2014. Isis has destroyed famed archaeological sites in Syria and Iraq, viewing them as idolatrous. | Egypt’s deadliest armed group, the Sinai-based Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, declared its allegiance to Islamic State in 2014. Isis has destroyed famed archaeological sites in Syria and Iraq, viewing them as idolatrous. |
| Egypt’s antiquities minister issued orders to intensify security at antiquities sites across the country after Wednesday’s attack. | Egypt’s antiquities minister issued orders to intensify security at antiquities sites across the country after Wednesday’s attack. |
| The attack had echoes of an earlier era of confrontation between the Egyptian state and Islamist militants in the 1990s. Luxor was the scene in 1997 of the massacre of more than 60 people, the vast majority foreign tourists, by militants armed with guns and knives. The attack on the temple of Hatshepsut on the west bank of the Nile was one of the deadliest in a years-long fight between the state and insurgents based in upper Egypt. | The attack had echoes of an earlier era of confrontation between the Egyptian state and Islamist militants in the 1990s. Luxor was the scene in 1997 of the massacre of more than 60 people, the vast majority foreign tourists, by militants armed with guns and knives. The attack on the temple of Hatshepsut on the west bank of the Nile was one of the deadliest in a years-long fight between the state and insurgents based in upper Egypt. |
| In another attack near a tourist site last week, gunmen shot dead two police officers near the Giza pyramids on the outskirts of Cairo. Separately, late on Tuesday, militants fired rockets at an airport used by international peacekeeping forces in north Sinai. | In another attack near a tourist site last week, gunmen shot dead two police officers near the Giza pyramids on the outskirts of Cairo. Separately, late on Tuesday, militants fired rockets at an airport used by international peacekeeping forces in north Sinai. |
| Related: Tourist desert – Egypt desperate to woo back visitors after years of unrest | Related: Tourist desert – Egypt desperate to woo back visitors after years of unrest |
| 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 that has affected Egypt’s tourist industry in general during the years of unrest since the 2011 uprising. | 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 that has affected Egypt’s tourist industry in general during the years of unrest since the 2011 uprising. |
| Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report | Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report |