Al Qaeda often condemns Egypts government as a corrupt U.S. puppet and calls for its overthrow. All quotes delayed a minimum of 15 minutes. What happened on the Kerch bridge? Market data provided by Factset. Like many Bedouins in the area, he refers to them as "accidents.". Many are now heavily armed with weapons smuggled in from Libya and Sudan. More and more foreign visitors are visiting the remote southwest of Egypt near its borders with Sudan and Libya to see priceless rock art preserved for millennia in one of the most-isolated reaches of the Sahara. A marine captain who has been kidnapped by the Houthis in Yemen and released after negotiations with the Egyptian authorities has said Egypt exerted "enormous . MP calls for harsher penalty to end child kidnapping in Egypt Mon, 30 Aug 2021 - 08:49 GMT . "They have been kidnapped and they have been moved outside the Egyptian borders by four criminals who have kidnapped them," Mr Garana said. CAIRO // Masked gunmen have abducted 19 people, including 11 foreign tourists, in southern Egypt and are holding them hostage, amid conflicting reports about whether ransom negotiations were underway with the kidnappers, who Egyptian officials insist were "bandits", not "terrorists". Playlist Download Embed Transcript Enlarge this image A Bedouin guide makes his way down from Mount Sinai to the Greek Orthodox monastery of St. Catherine in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula. Sheik Majid Rabie is a Kararesha tribal leader who negotiated with the kidnappers. CAIRO (Reuters) - Kidnappers who snatched European tourists in Egypt's desert last week exploited a weak spot in Cairo's security network, but the kidnapping is unlikely to herald . Yacht called Kaos vandalized by climate activists in Ibiza, Tourists' captor to hold "guests" until uncle free, U.S. confirms 2 Americans kidnapped in Sinai. The negotiations are still continuing, cabinet spokesman Magdy Radi told Reuters. Video, The surprising truth behind the 'walking' statues of Easter Island. He said his 62-year-old uncle, who raised him after his father died, suffers from back and heart problems as well as diabetes. Reuters, Benghazi. Powerful solar flares are possible today. The burnt out villages at frontlines of India violence, Nigeria's 'tax collectors': Menacing and mafia-like, The Capitol rioters who regret saying sorry, The surprising truth behind the 'walking' statues of Easter Island. Legal Statement. Two British tourists who were kidnapped in Egypt on their way to a beach resort have been freed, South Sinai security chief Mahmoud Al-Hefnawi told the BBC. Ayman el Zawahri, al Qa'eda's number two, is Egyptian, and he dedicated his last audio tape, posted on the internet, a few days ago to talking about the rockslide that killed more than 100 poor Egyptians two weeks ago. Security in the desert region has deteriorated since the overthrow of President Hosni Mubarak two years ago. Tourists Kidnapped in Egypt SCARY Updated Apr. He had said the Egyptian government was not in direct contact with the kidnappers. Video, The surprising truth behind the 'walking' statues of Easter Island. Two American women were kidnapped in Sinai in February last year but Egyptian authorities negotiated their release a few hours later. The group had been on a Safari trip that started on Sept 16 and was supposed to end on Saturday in el Galf el Kebir, which borders Libya, Sudan and Chad. The last major Nile valley attack, blamed on militants, claimed the lives of 58 foreign tourists in the southern temple city of Luxor in 1997. The country has faced a surge of political unrest and crime since last year's uprising. The Bedouins. The captives were released within days in both incidents. The minivan was carrying three other tourists in addition to the Americans, but their nationalities were not given. Other members of Hashem's tribe targeted more tourists in the same area a few days later. "There is no direct contact with the kidnappers. Protesters clashed with police officers in the streets of Cairo surrounding the Interior Ministry on Thursday night and Friday morning, and four more deaths were reported. ET. Three major bombings - in Taba in 2004, Sharm el Sheikh in 2005 and Dahab in 2006 - killed 121 people and were blamed on disgruntled Bedouins living in Sinai. But he says the Bedouins must also work with the government to solve disagreements. "She's a fervent woman of God she told us to tell everybody that everything is going to be alright.". Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. AI quiz: Can you tell which person is real? Egyptian Bedouins have pressed for the release of captive tribesmen they say have been sentenced unfairly on charges ranging from terrorism to drug dealing and people trafficking across the border into Israel. The pair are thought to have been. Hashem says they blocked the gate and prevented the Westerners from leaving for five hours. CAIRO, Egypt (CNN)-- Some of the 11 European tourists and their Egyptian guides kidnapped 10 days ago and released unharmed Monday have left an Egyptian hospital and are headed home, officials said. The group was ambushed by armed masked men while driving off-road vehicles in a rugged, remote area called Kark Talh, government officials said. Egyptian state media said that an unspecified number of gunmen sped up to the minivan in a small pickup truck and a car. "The State Department advisories, you should read them and take them seriously, says Karson. They have been kidnapped and they have been moved outside the Egyptian borders by four criminals who have kidnapped them, Tourism Minister Zoheir Garrana told Reuters. But these days, some Bedouins are using tourists for something completely different: as hostages in their political battle with the Egyptian government. The Bedouins depend on tourism, but have been kidnapping visitors in recent months in an attempt to pressure Egypt's government. Another of the pastor's sons, Daniel Louis, said the other kidnapped American, Alphonse, is the mother of two children, a 10-year-old girl and a 6-year-old boy. He said his uncle was detained for refusing to pay the police a bribe. Market data provided by Factset. First, he says, dont dress like an American. Man recovering after 2 months lost at sea with dog on damaged boat, Maps show where the Canadian wildfires are burning. He replaced his security chief and has urged police officials to treat the Bedouins with more respect. HOUSTON - Two men from Houston kidnapped in Egypt on Wednesday are safe Thursday night in Israel. 2023 BBC. Mayy El Sheikh contributed reporting from Cairo. The eight Egyptians were believed to be tour guides and security border guards. Last week, hundreds of armed tribesmen surrounded a base in North Sinai where international troops are stationed to monitor compliance with the 33-year-old Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty. Three other people were on the bus but were not taken, he said. Tourists' captor to hold "guests" until uncle freeU.S. All the contact is indirect through the tourist company", Mr Rady said. They said there was no sign militant Islamists were involved. Egypt blamed the Sinai attacks on Bedouin with militant views. The Ministry of Tourism said in a statement that the tour company's managing director phoned his wife and said the kidnappers were demanding a ransom. The kidnapping was the first of its kind in Egypt in living memory, though Islamic militants have hit the country's tourist industry in recent decades through bomb and shooting attacks . South Sinai's Red Sea coast is a major tourism hub. Since 2004 there have been a string of attacks on the beach resorts of the Sinai peninsula, which are popular with both tourists and Egyptians. Egyptian officials disclosed the kidnapping only Monday, after it had been discussed by Italian officials in Rome. In November 1997, 62 people among them 58 foreign visitors were killed in an attack on a popular tourist site in the southern Nile resort of Luxor. The abduction followed the kidnapping by armed Bedouin tribesmen on Tuesday of 25 Chinese factory workers who were taken from a company bus traveling in Sinai. The group was kidnapped from near Gilf El-Kabir close to the Libyan border by four Egyptians wearing masks, Mustapha Tawfiq, chief of police in the southern city of Aswan, told state television. Garrana told Egyptian television the kidnappers were most likely Sudanese. The local governor, security director and police officials traveled where the hostages were being held as part of the rapid negotiations that freed the hostages after roughly six hours of captivity, the reports said. When officials saw he was from Sinai, they harassed his uncle even more, Abu-Masuh said. Their nationalities were not given. Louis said he had been contacted by Massachusetts senators Scott Brown and John Kerry. Brandon Kurtz, 31, and Jon Szaflarski, 31, both work for Houston-based Schlumberger. (AP). See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays. The most important news from Armenia on Telegram. News that tourists had been kidnapped in Upper Egypt, which was once a hotbed of radical Islamic terrorism, at first raised fears of a potentially crippling blow to tourism, one of the main pillars of the Egyptian economy. In a statement on its official social media channels, Egypt's Ministry of Interior (MOI) stated that three men in a car kidnapped the young boy who was with his mother next to their residence. They recently formed a tribal union to boost their political power and serve as a sounding board for grievances. Deputy leader Ayman al-Zawahri said in a message this month it was among governments imposed by the Crusader-Zionist campaign (on Islam). Europe to get even hotter as 50C (122F) recorded in US and China, Putin vows response after 'terrorist' Crimea bridge attack. Bedouin tribesmen on Egypt's Sinai Peninsula rely on tourists for their livelihood taking them on safaris, selling them trinkets, renting them huts at no-frills resorts on the Red Sea. "However, regardless of whether this crime has political or criminal motives, its has political and economic consequences, revealing a kind of instability in the country which is not attractive to tourists or investors. "This is an act of banditry not of terrorism," the tourism ministry said, adding that those responsible have asked for an undisclosed sum of money as a ransom. REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic. The men robbed the passengers of money, watches and cellphones before abducting the two American women and their guide and driving off into the mountains, according to state media reports. VideoThe surprising truth behind the 'walking' statues of Easter Island, Jane Birkin: Artist and style icon's life in pictures, How world-record mania has gripped Nigeria. Last Updated 1:39.p.m. A security official said the groups permit to visit the restricted area started on Sept. 16. Tourism is a major industry in Egypt and is essential to the country's economy - about 8.6 million tourists visited the country in 2007. The route is a frequent target by Bedouins who abduct tourists to pressure police to meet their demands, usually to release a detained relative they say has been unjustly arrested. South Sinai Gov. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. The group were taken captive by the gunmen and had been taken outside the country, Zoheir Garana, Egypt's tourism minister, said yesterday. Ragab, 28, told the AP on Friday from the captor's phone that he and the two Americans had been fed a roast lamb and were staying at Abu-Masuh's home in the harsh mountain terrain of central Sinai. Libyan Arms Flow Into Egypt Across Northern Sinai, Egypt's State Security Gets Very Interested When Reporters Talk To Bedouins, Eco-Tourism Holds Promise, Peril For Egyptian Oasis, Egypt Explores Tourism Beyond The Package Tour. or redistributed. Then the Egyptian government would have had to deal with the embarrassment," he says. Garrana said authorities learned of the kidnapping after a tour operator called his German wife and told her he was being held hostage. At a currency exchange store in Sharm el-Sheikh, a French tourist was killed and two other people were wounded when Bedouin robbers and police officers got into a firefight there in late January. An hour later, police shot dead a Bedouin taxi driver and wounded his friend. So they decided to force the government's hand by detaining two busloads of European tourists visiting a historic monastery in Wadi Feiran. The kidnapping of 19 hostages including European tourists in a remote desert area of Egypt is an escalation of banditry by newcomers in gun-mounted pick-ups who made their first appearance last . Copyright 2023. Mr Rady, the government spokesman, said Egyptian and Sudanese authorities were co-ordinating efforts. But the fall of the Mubarak regime weakened Egypt's security apparatus and gave the Bedouins a rare opportunity to fight back. What happened on the Kerch bridge? (CBS/AP) Two American tourists and their Egyptian guide who were kidnapped in the Sinai Peninsula on Friday have been released, the U.S. Embassy in Cairo has confirmed to CBS News. South Sinai's Red Sea coast is a major north African tourism hub. Are Canadian wildfires under control? In Washington, State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell also confirmed their release and thanked Egyptian authorites. Video, The surprising truth behind the 'walking' statues of Easter Island, Putin vows response after 'terrorist' bridge attack, Victim's family gets $15m in Murdaugh boat crash, US military emails sent to Russian ally by mistake, Mysterious dome washes up on Australian beach, New drugs for Alzheimers hailed as turning point, Plane crash at Polish airfield leaves five dead, Djokovic fined for smashing racquet in final loss, Sir Elton John gives evidence in Spacey trial, Summer camp evacuated as Greece wildfire nears, Australian man and his dog survive months at sea. Garrana said the kidnappers had been in contact with the wife of the tour operator and had asked the German government to pay a ransom. Culture & Society > 14 tourists kidnapped in Egypt. The men . Security sources said there was no sign militant Islamists were involved in the kidnapping. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. The most recent attacks occurred between 2004 and 2006 in popular Red Sea resorts in the Sinai. Kidnappers seized 11 European tourists and eight Egyptians during a Sahara desert safari to Gilf al-Kebir, a plateau famed for its prehistoric cave paintings. Fun stories about food, relationships, the great outdoors and more. 2012 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. Two American women kidnapped by gunmen in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula on Friday . K. Kidnappings in Egypt (2 P) This page was last edited on 1 October 2020, at 01:41 (UTC). Mike Nelson/EPA/Landov CAIRO A group of 11 European tourists and 8 Egyptians who were kidnapped in a remote desert area of southwestern Egypt on Friday night have been freed, according to the Egyptian foreign minister. The State Department website also has regularly-updated country advisories, and if you need further information security services like iJet can help. Security forces in Egypt have mistakenly killed 12 people, including Mexican tourists, during an anti-terror operation, the interior ministry says. ( David Degner) October 2012 Issue My host, the 37-year-old Bedouin tribal leader Sheikh Ahmed Hashem, had served me so many glasses of sweet tea that I had lost count. There were contradictory reports about the fate of the hostages. None of the Bedouin prisoners were released. It is premature to say they are released. "The contacts are with the wife of the agency owner, they're telling her their demands and security services are in contact with her," he said. "They have been released, all of them, safe and sound," the foreign minister, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, said Monday afternoon in New York, on the eve of the opening of the United Nations General Assembly.