Danish, German tourist wounded in attack in Egyptian resort

Three tourists have been stabbed by attackers who targeted a Red Sea hotel, armed with knives, a gun and a suicide belt, sources said.

According to the Egyptian government, three foreigners were injured in the attack – one from Sweden and two from Austria – and they were rushed to the hospital.

Security forces stationed at the hotel confronted the men as they tried to escape, killing one and seriously wounding the other, according to the ministry’s Facebook page.

No one was hurt in the Thursday attack in which a group of over a dozen men fired flares and birdshot at a security post outside the hotel where Arab Israeli tourists were staying.

The attack occurred at Bella Vista Hotel in the downtown area of the Red Sea resort town. Earlier reporting, however, cited security sources as saying that only two people were injured – a German citizen and a Danish citizen. Reuters reported gunmen opened fire at the entrance of the hotel, while The Associated Press reported a stabbing by suspected militants.

“There has been some damage to the hotel’s glass windows, as well as damage to a tourist bus” in front of the building, they said in a statement.

The latest advisory from the UK’s Foreign Office only says there is a significant risk of a terror attack Egypt. The advisory does not say that tourists or business travellers should not visit.

The attack was later claimed by the ISIS-affiliate group “Sinai Province”.

Most were tourists returning home from the Red Sea resort of Sharm al-Sheikh.

The assault on the tourists came on a day when the Coptic Orthodox Christians in Egypt were observing Christmas in the mostly Muslim nation.

Tourism was once an important aspect of the Egyptian economy, but began struggling amid political and economic instability after the ousting of former Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak in 2011.