Three European holidaymakers wounded in an attack in an Egyptian resort were in stable condition Saturday, as a witness recounted how the assailants burst into the hotel and stabbed guests. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the shooting in which there were no casualties.
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“I was within my room once I heard someone yelling”. The official said they suffered shallow wounds.
He said another woman eating in the restaurant was also wounded.
Egypt’s Interior Ministry confirmed the attackers had been armed with knives and an air pistol and said they did not know the motive for the attack. “It is just a bad coincidence I was there”, he added, echoing Egypt’s Tourism Minister Hisham Zaazou.
Gunmen have killed a police officer and a soldier in an area on the outskirts of the Egyptian capital, Cairo.
He said: “Suddenly a guy came from behind and he put an arm in front of me and tried to stab me”. Earlier reports, however, mentioned an explosive belt that authorities detonated.
These pictures claim to show the hotel knife attackers after they were shot by Egyptian police – as well as their black “ISIS flag”.
Analysts suggest that the jihadists attacks seek to harm the government by driving away foreign investment and tourism.
Tourism is critical to the Egyptian economy as a source of hard currency, but has been ravaged by years of political turmoil since the protests that ousted veteran president Hosni Mubarak in 2011.
Egypt is now fighting a wave of attacks from militants, which began in remote regions of the Sinai and in recent months began targeting tourists.
They also claimed responsibility for bombing a Russian airliner over Sinai, killing all 224 people on board.
The attacker who was killed was apparently wearing a suicide vest.
The men sneaked into a restaurant belonging to the Bella Vista hotel and started randomly stabbing tourists, Egypt’s Interior Ministry said in a statement.
A security official said about 40 Arab Israelis were inside waiting to board a bus when the attack occurred.
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The Associated Press could not independently verify the authenticity of the claim but it was similar to previous postings by the IS affiliate. It was circulated by the group’s sympathizers on social media.
