Egyptian stabs two women to death in Red Sea attack on foreigners

‘Hurghada has witnessed an attack on a number of people today, which led to the death of two foreigners’

Raf Sanchez and

Magdy Samaan in Cairo

AN EGYPTIAN man stabbed two female tourists to death and wounded four more at a Red Sea resort yesterday. He reportedly shouted at fellow Egyptians to get out of the way so he could attack foreigners.

The two women killed were both German and two Czechs were injured.

The attacker swam from a public beach in the coastal town of Hurghada to the Zahabia Hotel and then began a stabbing spree that took him to the neighbouring Sunny Days El Palacio resort. He was armed with a large knife.

The attacker, who is in his mid-20s, was captured as he tried to swim away from the scene.

His motives for the attack are not clear. An eyewitness told the Masry alyom newspaper that the attacker shouted at Egyptian hotel staff to clear a path as he targeted foreigners on the beach.

“Go away, I don’t want you Egyptians, you are not wanted,” he reportedly said. Egyptian security officials said it was not clear if the attack was ideologically motivated or if the man had mental health problems.

Pictures on social media purported to show the wounded attacker being carried away from the beach on a trolley while several men appeared to be holding him down.

Other pictures showed a wounded tourist being carried on a stretcher through the lobby of a hotel. Major General Ahmed Abdullah, the governor of Hurghada, said: “The city of Hurghada has witnessed an attack on a number of people today, which led to the death of two foreigners residing in the city. The local security authorities arrested the accused and he is under investigation now.”

Egypt’s Red Sea resorts like Hurghada were once a popular destination for Britons and other tourists but a string of high-profile terror attacks have scared away many visitors. The Egyptian branch of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) is believed to have blown up a Russian passenger jet in October 2015, killing all 224 people on board.

Egypt’s security forces have fought a bloody campaign against Islamist militants in the Sinai but have been unable to prevent a series of bombings in Cairo, Alexandria and other cities.