ISIS news: Egyptian forces 'hunting ISIS' mistakenly shoot Mexicans
At least 12 tourists and guides have been shot dead in an attack by Egyptian forces after the group was mistaken as members of the Islamic State.
Reports suggest that some of the killed tourists are Mexican nationals and at least 10 other passengers in the convoy with four cars are said to have been injured. The Mexican Foreign Ministry has confirmed the reports, while the Egyptian government has not confirmed the number of Egyptian nationals who accompanied the tourists.
In a statement released early Monday, the Egyptian Ministry of Interior said, "A joint force from the police and military, whilst chasing terrorist elements in the oasis area of the western desert tonight, accidentally engaged four four-wheel drives belonging to a Mexican tourist group," adding that the passengers have been brought to hospitals.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
The statement claimed that tourists are not allowed in that area since, and beating the line would make their presences in the said area "illegal."
Mexico reported that consular representatives have gone to the el Hospital Dar-el-Fouad in the suburban Cairo area where the wounded have been brought.
Meanwhile, president Enrique Peńa Nieto took to Twitter and condemned the "mistake." "In a tragic incident in Egypt, Mexican tourists were attacked. I deeply regret that people have lost their lives," he said.
In 2013, after the military ousted the Islamist president Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt has been battling insurgencies at a gradual pace. Majority of the attacks have been claimed by an extremist group in the Sinai Province, an IS-affiliated group.
According to The Guardian, the insurgency was spearheaded by the Islamic State's Egyptian affiliate, and has killed hundreds of government fighters and police, at the same time attacking several western targets.
Earlier on Sunday, an attack against several Egyptian military posts in the Western Desert has been claimed by IS-affiliated Ansar Bait Al-Maqdis forces, RT News reported.
