12 Mexican Tourists "Accidentally" Killed By Egyptian Government

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Just a day after the Egyptian government announced it would step down, a tragedy has occurred: at least 12 people were killed and 10 injured when a convoy that was transporting Mexican tourists through the Western Desert was attacked by the Egyptian military, which mistook them for militants.

From an article on RT.com:

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“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,” Egypt’s Ministry of Interior said in a statement on Monday. “The incident resulted in the death of 12 Mexicans and Egyptians and the injury of 10 others who have been transferred to hospitals.”

Earlier in the day, IS-affiliated Ansar Bait Al-Maqdis militants had claimed responsibility for attacking several Egyptian military locations in the Western Desert on social media. Local media reported that the military retaliated, inflicting significant casualties on the terror group. However, these reports have not been confirmed by the Egyptian forces.

#Mexico | #BREAKING : #Egypt‘s Interior Ministry says tourists had been in a banned area pic.twitter.com/FZuQcr4JlW

— INC World (@INCWorldAgency) September 14, 2015

The Interior Ministry said that a joint force of Egyptian military and police had been conducting security operations in the area and all access to civilian vehicles had been closed off due to the situation.