Egyptian forces inadvertently kill tourists during hot pursuit of terrorists

Before the Secretary’s press conference, Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto tweeted that Mexico “condemned the attacks” and demanded an investigation.

Egypt’s tourism industry – once the lifeblood of the north African country’s economy – has struggled to recover since the Arab Spring uprisings and the subsequent election of Mohamed Morsi, the controversial and conservative Muslim Brotherhood-aligned president who was later deposed in a military coup.

At least two Mexicans were killed, Mexico’s foreign ministry said in the statement.

The Mexican ambassador visited five other nationals being treated in a Cairo hospital, where they were listed in stable condition.

“That means that the bodies have already deteriorated”, he said, “although the incident happened only 500 meters away from the road”.

They were near the oasis when they came under fire, she said.

Egypt embassy in Mexico, meanwhile, has said the government will establish an “investigative committee headed by the prime minister himself to resolve the case and publish the results”, according to Mexico’s Foreign Affairs Ministry. He, however, did not repeat earlier assertions that the tourists were in an off-limits area.

When the terrified tourists tried to flee in their cars they were attacked by more forces on the ground.

Egypt’s military spokesman Brig.

Shots were fired while authorities were engaging militants in the country’s western desert, the ministry of interior said this morning. But they know that they are there and generally then it is not risky to be there.

On Sunday, the Islamic State group (IS) claimed it had “resisted a military operation” in the desert.

He said that the incident took place “by mistake” as part of the country’s fight against terrorism.

But authorities here have been warning for months that the security situation in these desert areas is hard, strongly advising Irish citizens against travelling there.

Egypt’s interior ministry did not indicate whether the tourists were targeted with automatic weapons or aerial bombardment during the operation against fighters on the Al Wahat district. Spanish newspaper El Mundo reports that the tour group was made up largely of Chilean tourists.

Rafael Bejarano, 41, had lived in San Clemente for about three years and was a self-described shaman, faith healer, and player of the didgeridoo – a long, wooden horn from Australia.

Stewart says he “touched everyone with his heart, with his music, with his soul”. He also performed a “shamanic healing concert” in Mission Viejo.

Egypt’s desert regions are a popular tourist destination for people who wish to experience the harsh life of the barren land. Egypt’s military and law enforcement is concerned that the porous border it shares with Libya is rife with smuggling and all sorts of illegal activities, not to mention that Islamic insurgency is on the rise.

The government says hundreds of police and soldiers have been killed, many in attacks claimed by IS’s Sinai Province affiliate.