Extremist Group Claims Bombing of Tourist Bus in Egypt

Local Editor

A group Ansar Beit al-Maqdis on Tuesday claimed the suicide bombing in Egypt of a tour bus that killed three South Koreans and their local driver.

The bombing on Sunday, near the Taba border crossing with "Israel", was the first targeting tourists since the military overthrow of president Mohamed Mursi in July sparked a militant campaign that has killed scores of police and soldiers.

"One of the heroes of Ansar Beit al-Maqdis carried out the attack on a tourist bus heading towards the Zionist entity ," said a statement attributed to the group and posted on forums.

It added that the suicide attack was "part of our economic war against this regime of traitors ... which kills the innocent, destroys houses, ransacks properties and lays waste to land on the border with the Zionist enemy".
The group warned Egypt's government of new attacks aimed at its "economic interests everywhere to force it to stop its actions against Muslims".
The tourists were all members of the same church group from the central South Korean county of Jincheon, and were on a 12-day trip through Turkey, Egypt and "Israel".

They had been about to cross into the Zionsit entity when the blast occurred.
Fourteen South Koreans were also wounded in the bombing and were receiving treatment at a hospital in the popular Sinai resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.

Two Egyptians were also wounded in the blast.

The head of Egypt's Chamber of Tourism said the attack could have been aimed at hitting the tourism industry, one of Egypt's top revenue generators.
"The attack aimed at harming tourism in general," said Elhami al-Zayat.
The Sinai-based Ansar Beit al-Maqdis has claimed responsibility for several high-profile attacks, including a car bombing at police headquarters in Cairo and the shooting down of a military helicopter.

The al-Qaeda-inspired group also tried but failed to assassinate interior minister Mohamed Ibrahim last year.
The military has sent tanks and troops to combat the militants in the Sinai, amid fears the group is now changing its tactics.
"A continuation in attacks on tourists would mean a shift in strategy by jihadist groups that until now targeted the military and police," said Issandr al-Amrani of the International Crisis Group.
"But that cannot be judged after one attack," he added.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team