Egypt Stuff - 2

The Luxor massacre was a terrorist attack that occurred on 17 November 1997 in
Egypt. It was perpetrated by al-Jamāʻah al-Islāmīyah and resulted in the deaths of

62 people, most of whom were tourists. It took place at Dayr al-Bahri, an
archaeological site located across the Nile from the city of Luxor.
Attack
Deir el-Bahari is one of Egypt's top tourist attractions, and is the site of the
Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut, an 18th Dynasty pharaoh. The temple is also known as
Djoser-Djeseru (Holy of Holies in ancient Egyptian).
In the mid-morning attack, six gunmen killed 58 foreign nationals and four
Egyptians.[1] The assailants were armed with automatic firearms and knives, and
disguised as members of the security forces. They descended on the Mortuary Temple
of Hatshepsut at around 08:45. They killed two armed guards at the site.[1] With
the tourists trapped inside the temple, the killing went on systematically for 45
minutes, during which many bodies, especially of women, were mutilated with
machetes.[2][1] The body of an elderly Japanese man was also found mutilated.[3] A
leaflet was discovered stuffed into his body that read "no to tourists in Egypt"
and was signed "Omar Abdul Rahman's Squadron of Havoc and Destruction—the Gama'a
al-Islamiyya, the Islamic Group".[3]
The dead included a five-year-old English child, Shaunnah Turner, and four Japanese
couples on honeymoon.[4][5] There were 26 survivors.
The attackers then hijacked a bus, but ran into a checkpoint of armed Egyptian
National Police and military forces. One of the terrorists was wounded in the
subsequent shootout and the rest fled into the hills where their bodies were found
in a cave, apparently having committed suicide together.[6]
One or more al-Jama'a al-Islamiyya leaflets were found calling for the release of
Omar Abdel-Rahman from a U.S. prison,[7][8] stating that the attack had been
carried out as a gesture to exiled leader Mustafa Hamza,[9] or declaring: "We shall
take revenge for our brothers who have died on the gallows. The depths of the earth
are better for us than the surface since we have seen our brothers squatting in
their prisons, and our brothers and families tortured in their jails".[10]
Casualties
Most of the victims were foreign tourists. Most of the casualties were from
Switzerland, with 36 of its citizens killed. The youngest victim was a 5-year-old
British child.
Nationality Number of victims

Switzerland 36[11]
Japan 10[12][13]
United Kingdom 6
Germany 4
Egypt 4[14]
Colombia 2
Bulgaria 1[13]
France 1[13]
Responsibility
It is thought to have been instigated by exiled leaders of al-Jama'a al-Islamiyya,
an Egyptian Islamist organization, attempting to undermine the organization's July
1997 "Nonviolence Initiative", to devastate the Egyptian economy[15] and provoke
the government into repression that would strengthen support for anti-government
forces.[2] However, the attack led to internal divisions among the militants, and
resulted in the declaration of a ceasefire.[16] In June 2013, the group denied that
it was involved in the massacre.[17]
Reaction
The attack took place an hour before the state visit of Queen Beatrix of the
Netherlands and Prince-Consort Claus.
Following the attack, then president Hosni Mubarak replaced interior minister
General Hassan Al Alfi with General Habib al-Adly.[18] The Swiss Federal Police
"later determined that bin Laden had financed the operation".[19]
The tourist industry in Egypt, and particularly in Luxor, was seriously affected by
the resultant slump in visitors and remained depressed until sinking even lower
with the September 11 attacks in the United States in 2001, the 2005 Sharm el-
Sheikh attacks, and the 2006 Dahab bombings.[citation needed]
The massacre marked a decisive drop in Islamist terrorists' fortunes in Egypt by

turning public opinion overwhelmingly against them. Terrorist attacks declined
dramatically following the backlash from the massacre.[19] Organizers and
supporters of the attack quickly realised that the strike had been a massive
miscalculation and reacted with denials of involvement. The day after the attack,
al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya leader Refa'i Ahmed Taha claimed the attack

Egypt Stuff - 2

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Egypt Stuff - 2

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Egypt Stuff - 2

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

The Luxor massacre was a terrorist attack that occurred on 17 November 1997 in

Egypt. It was perpetrated by al-Jamāʻah al-Islāmīyah and resulted in the deaths of

Nationality Number of victims

The massacre marked a decisive drop in Islamist terrorists' fortunes in Egypt by

You might also like