Attackers target Egyptian resort hotel

Three foreign tourists have been wounded by assailants who attacked a hotel in the Egyptian Red Sea resort city of Hurghada.

The Security Information Center of Egypt’s Ministry of Interior said in a statement that two Austrians and a Swede had been injured while the attackers were trying to escape the scene on Friday.

One of the assailants was killed by security forces and another was in custody, the statement said, adding that the attackers were armed with an air gun and knives. It said an investigation was underway.

The assailants arrived by sea to carry out the assault on the beachside Bella Vista Hotel, but security forces repelled the assault, sources told Reuters.

The attack came a day after a tourist bus took fire from gunmen in the capital, Cairo. No one was reported hurt in that attack.

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) claimed responsibility on Friday for the Cairo shooting directed at Israeli tourists.

Tourism roiled by attacks

An internet statement said it was in response to a call by ISIL’s leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, to target Jews “everywhere”.

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.

Tourism, a big revenue earner for the country of 80 million, has been roiled by attacks in recent years.

Armed groups linked to ISIL have intensified their attacks after current President Abdul Fatah el-Sisi came to power following a coup nearly two years ago.

ISIL also claimed the downing of a Russian passenger plane on October 31 that killed all 224 people on board, but Cairo says it has found no evidence of terrorism in the crash.

However, Russia and Western governments have said the airliner was probably brought down by a bomb.