Explosion in Egypt Injures 16 People Near Giza Pyramids

Explosion in Egypt Injures 16 Near Pyramids, Ministry Says

(Bloomberg) -- At least 16 people were wounded in a roadside bombing targeting a tour bus near Egypt’s Giza pyramids, the latest attack on the North African nation’s crucial tourism industry.

Some of the casualties were South African nationals, according to Mohammed El-Saghir, head of police investigations in Giza’s al-Haram district. The blast occurred in front of a museum that’s under construction, and there was no immediate claim of responsibility.

The explosion near Egypt’s trademark ancient site came as authorities tout a revival of tourism, a key foreign-exchange generator that struggled in the aftermath of the 2011 uprising against Hosni Mubarak. It also highlights the challenge faced by President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi as he vows to crush militants based in North Sinai who’ve carried out attacks far beyond the peninsula.

Read: Accor Plans 60 New Hotels in Africa, Half of Them in Egypt

In the worst single attack on tourists, an Islamic State affiliate in late 2015 downed a Russian charter flight leaving the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh, killing all 224 people on board.

Last December, three Vietnamese tourists and a local guide were killed by a roadside blast in an area of greater Cairo close to the site of Sunday’s explosion.

©2019 Bloomberg L.P.

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