Islamic State says Cairo attack was response to leader's call to target Jews
The attack took place at a hotel on a road leading to the pyramids
Police are seen at the scene where gunmen attacked a tourist bus in front of a hotel in Giza, Greater Cairo, Egypt on January 7, 2016. PHOTO: REUTERS
CAIRO:
Islamic State said on Friday its members had carried out an attack on Israeli tourists in Cairo in response to a call by the group's leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, to target Jews "everywhere".
The group said in a statement released on the Internet that light arms were used in the attack, which took place on Thursday outside a Cairo hotel.
Egypt's Interior Ministry has said the attack was directed at security forces and was carried out by a member of a group of people who had gathered near the hotel and fired bird shot.
Gunmen open fire on tourist bus at Cairo hotel, no casualties: security sources
Security sources said the tourists were Israeli Arabs.
Islamic State's Egypt affiliate is waging an insurgency based in the Sinai which has mostly targeted soldiers and policemen.
Crash over Sinai: Russia confirms bomb brought down Egypt plane
The tourism industry - a vital source of hard currency in Egypt - is highly sensitive to attacks by militants which have slowed a recovery from years of political turmoil.
Militant violence has been rising since the army toppled President Mohamed Mursi in 2013 after mass protests against his rule.
Egypt police kill leading Islamic State militant in Cairo
Hundreds of members of the security forces have been attacked in suicide bombings and shootings, which persist despite the toughest crackdown on militants in Egypt's history.
Islamic State said on Friday its members had carried out an attack on Israeli tourists in Cairo in response to a call by the group's leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, to target Jews "everywhere".
The group said in a statement released on the Internet that light arms were used in the attack, which took place on Thursday outside a Cairo hotel.
Egypt's Interior Ministry has said the attack was directed at security forces and was carried out by a member of a group of people who had gathered near the hotel and fired bird shot.
Gunmen open fire on tourist bus at Cairo hotel, no casualties: security sources
Security sources said the tourists were Israeli Arabs.
Islamic State's Egypt affiliate is waging an insurgency based in the Sinai which has mostly targeted soldiers and policemen.
Crash over Sinai: Russia confirms bomb brought down Egypt plane
The tourism industry - a vital source of hard currency in Egypt - is highly sensitive to attacks by militants which have slowed a recovery from years of political turmoil.
Militant violence has been rising since the army toppled President Mohamed Mursi in 2013 after mass protests against his rule.
Egypt police kill leading Islamic State militant in Cairo
Hundreds of members of the security forces have been attacked in suicide bombings and shootings, which persist despite the toughest crackdown on militants in Egypt's history.