Sammie Olovsson, 27, from Boxholm, in southern Sweden was one of three people stabbed by two suspected Islamic State (ISIS) militants at a luxury hotel in Egypt’s Red Sea resort of Hurghada.
Advertisement
Security officials had initially said the attackers wounded two tourists, a Dane and a German, but such discrepancies are common in the immediate aftermath of terror attacks.
The slain attacker, he said, appeared to want to take a female tourist hostage, dragging her into the hotel’s lobby with his knife held against her neck when he was shot dead by a policeman.
The latest assault comes as shortly after Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) claimed responsibility for a Thursday attack on Israeli tourists in Cairo.
He said the attacker who was killed was wearing an explosive vest.
At least three tourists have been stabbed outside a hotel at an Egyptian beach resort by militants who arrived by boat, security sources say.
“Most probably is to make propaganda that will affect the tourism in Egypt badly, and that was the main aim”.
He later said the wounded “will be released from hospital today”, adding that “over the coming days we will announce even greater security measures to safeguard all tourists visiting Egypt”.
The shooting attack was carried out in the Giza area on Saturday, while the victims were in their vehicle on the way to work.
All three attackers have been killed by Egyptian security forces.
Egypt is fighting a wave of armed attacks, which began in remote regions of the Sinai, but is increasingly focusing on targets previously considered safe such as the tourist resorts on the Red Sea.
But ever since bombers attacked the resort of Sharm el-Sheikh in 2005 the authorities have gone to great lengths to secure the country’s Red Sea resorts.
Tourism remains a major source of hard currency in Egypt, where foreign reserves have dropped from $36 billion before the 2011 uprising to $18 billion at the end of August.
A security official said about 40 Arab Israelis were inside waiting to board a bus when the attack occurred.
Advertisement
The group’s Egypt affiliate has claimed credit in the past for similar attacks in the capital and the Sinai Peninsula, where its insurgency is based.
