Egyptian security forces opened fire on a caravan of tourist vehicles in the country's Western Desert late on Sunday night, killing at least 12 people visiting from Mexico and injuring 10 others, among them Mexican tourists and their Egyptian tour guides, officials said.
The tourists were mistakenly killed by a "joint force from the police and armed forces" who were pursuing "terrorist elements" in an area of the desert, according to a brief statement posted to the official Facebook page of Egypt's Interior Ministry. The episode happened aroundmidnight, security officials said.
“The incident resulted in the deaths of 12 people and the injury of 10 people from among the Mexicans and the Egyptians,” the statement said. “They have been taken to hospitals for treatment.”
The security forces said they had believed the vehicles were being used to transport terrorists. The statement said the group had been driving in a restricted area where unauthorised access is banned.
“A working group has been formed to examine the causes and circumstances of the incident as well as the justification for the presence of a tourist group in a region to which access is prohibited,” the ministry said.
The tourists were traveling in a group of four sport utility vehicles in an area roughly 30 miles from Bahariya Oasis, security officials said. The oasis, a verdant desert outpost, is about 230 miles south of Cairo, and is a popular stop for groups on desert tours.
Mexico's president, Enrique Pena Nieto, called the killings "tragic" and demanded Sunday on Twitter that Egypt investigate them thoroughly.
"I deeply regret that our countrymen lost their lives," he said. The Mexican Foreign Relations Ministry released a statement Sunday night saying it had confirmed the deaths of two Mexican citizens and was working to gather more information about what had occurred in the desert. "The circumstances are not yet clarified," it said.
Mexico said the victims of the attack were taken to Dar al-Fouad Hospital, an upscale and widely respected facility in Cairo’s western suburbs, and that the Mexican ambassador and consular staff were there to help them.
Egypt has battled an Islamist militant insurgency that emerged after the July 2013 military removal of president Mohammed Morsi.
The insurgents, largely based in the Sinai Peninsula to the east, have killed hundreds of soldiers and civilians, set off bombs in the capital, attacked Western targets and aligned themselves with the Islamic State, referring to themselves as “the Sinai Province” of the Islamic State.