CAIRO, (Reuters) – A bomb on a tourist bus in Egypt’s Sinai killed at least two South Koreans and the Egyptian driver yesterday, army and security sources said, in the first attack on tourists since an army takeover in July spurred an Islamist insurgency.
The Interior Ministry said the bus was travelling from St. Catherine’s Monastery, a popular tourist destination in the south Sinai, to nearby Israel when it was attacked.
It did not state the cause of the blast, in which another 24 people were wounded. Two security sources said a bomb had been detonated either inside or near the bus.
“This is a terrorist act that was carried out with an explosive device,” said an army source. Egyptian officials use the word “terrorist” to describe Islamist militants. Presidential spokesman Ehab Badawy called the attack a “despicable act of cowardice directed at innocent tourists”.
Al Qaeda-inspired Islamist militants based in the largely lawless Sinai peninsula have stepped up attacks on security forces since army chief Field Marshal Abdel Fattah al-Sisi ousted Islamist President Mohamed Mursi in July after mass protests against his rule.
If militants were behind Sunday’s bombing, it would mark a shift in strategy to attacking “softer” tourist and economic targets. Egypt’s vital tourism industry has already been hit hard by three years of political turmoil and street protests.
HOPES OF STABILITY
Sisi, who is expected to announce his candidacy for the presidency soon, had hoped a political road map unveiled after Mursi’s overthrow would stabilise Egypt, which has a peace treaty with Israel and controls the Suez Canal, a busy world shipping channel on the Sinai’s western edge.
