Suicide bomber attacks Luxor

A suicide bomber has blown himself up at a popular tourist attraction in the Egyptian city of Luxor.

Two other men were shot dead in a gun battle with police in the car park of the Karnak temple late this morning.

The ancient site, one of the most popular in Egypt,  is visited by millions of tourists every year.

A health ministry spokesman said four Egyptians were wounded including bazaar shop owners and police. An interior ministry spokesman said no tourists were injured, reported state news agency Mena.

Officials said three armed men tried to storm a barricade that leads to the Karnak temple site. Two men engaged in gunfire with police, who killed them.

The third man in the car managed to overcome the barricade and blew himself up, said reports.

The Egyptian Tourist Office in London issued the following statement: "According to preliminary reports from the local authorities,  vigilant police work foiled an attempted suicide attack outside the Temple of Karnak this morning.

"When a car with three individuals attempted to enter the Temple’s parking lot,  a suspicious plain clothes policeman forced it to stop.

"One of the assailants ran out of the car and detonated a suicide device killing himself instantly.  The police then surrounded the vehicle,  killed one additional assailant inside the vehicle and wounded another.

"The policeman who stopped the vehicle sustained minor injuries,  but due to his heroic actions many other potential victims were saved and thankfully no tourists were harmed.

"The Ministry of Tourism and the Government of Egypt place the highest priority on the safety of tourists in our country.

"We have enhanced security measures in place at all our sites and we continue to take every possible measure to ensure that no harm comes to anyone visiting Egypt."

The attack is the first to target the southern Egyptian city of Luxor since 1997 when Islamic militants gunned down tourists at the city’s Hatshepsut Temple on the west bank of the Nile, killing 58.

The Foreign Office issued the following statement: "There are reports of an attack in Luxor. The British Embassy in Cairo is urgently seeking further information. If you’re a British national and you need assistance, call the British Embassy on 02 2791 6000 and select ‘Consular Assistance’."

Thomas Cook has cancelled all excursions to Luxor until further notice. It said it is liaising with ABTA and the Foreign Office to monitor the situation and provide updates ‘as appropriate’.

The tour operator confirmed it had no guests affected by this morning’s incident.

Last week, gunmen on a motorcycle shot dead two members of Egypt’s tourism and antiquities police force on a road close to the Giza pyramids on the outskirts of Cairo.

The UK director of the Epgypt Tourist Office, Omayma El Husseini, said the office was waiting for details of the Luxor attack from the Cairo head office before making further comment or issuing advice.

Egypt specialist opertor Discover Egypt said it didn’t have any clients in Luxor today, but it took a party to visit the Karnak temples yesterday.

Following today’s attack, ABTA issued the following statement:

"Following the incident at the Temple of Karnak in Luxor, ABTA is liaising with its Members and the Foreign Office to assess the impact. At this stage it is understood that no tourists were involved in the incident. Egypt attracts around 250,000 UK visitors each year.

"ABTA Members can follow ABTA’s Operational Bulletins for updates on the situation, any Members requiring assistance are advised to contact the Destinations team."

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