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Gunmen attack tourists at Egypt's Luxor temple site
November 17, 1997
Web posted at: 7:51 a.m. EST (1251 GMT)CAIRO, Egypt (CNN) -- Unidentified gunmen opened fire at the world famous Pharo-era temple site of Luxor in southern Egypt on Monday, killing an unknown number of international tourists.
State television issued a brief statement saying "attackers hit a number of foreigners, Egyptians and policemen who exchanged fire with them. Security forces are chasing the perpetrators of this criminal act."
The precise number of deaths remained unclear. But the latest report said six gunmen, three other Egyptians and 11 international tourists had died in the attack, which took place about 300 miles (500 km) south of Cairo.
Eyewitness Matt Moyer describes the scene Moving out of the line of fire...
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(320 K / 24 sec. audio)A spokesman for a travel agency in Luxor was quoted as saying that the gunmen opened fire indiscriminately on tourists of various nationalities as they prepared to enter a temple about 9 a.m.
The assailants then left an empty tour bus, which they had apparently hijacked, and reportedly fled toward the desert and nearby mountains.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.
The Luxor incident came two months after nine German tourists and an Egyptian driver were killed when a tour bus was firebombed outside the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. The authorities at the time said the attack was carried out by deranged criminals and was not politically motivated.
Attacks by Muslim militants have killed 34 international tourists in the past five years. Overall about 1,100 people have been killed since 1992, when extremists launched a campaign aimed at ousting President Hosni Mubarak.
Reporter Alphonso Van Marsh, The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
Related stories:
- Egyptian bus assailants sentenced to death - October 30, 1997
- Tourists return to Egyptian sites after attack - September 19, 1997
- Deadly Cairo attack caught on tape - September 19, 1997
- Terrorists kill 9 tourists in Cairo attack - September 18, 1997
Related sites:
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- The Temple of Deir el Bahari
- Egypt State Information Service
- Egypt - Consular Information Sheet - U.S. State Department
- Arabic News .com Front Page for Arab News
- Egyptian Ministry of Tourism
- The Egyptian Presidency
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