On 8 January 2016, two suspected militants, armed with a

melee weapon A melee weapon, hand weapon or close combat weapon is any handheld weapon used in hand-to-hand combat, i.e. for use within the direct physical reach of the weapon itself, essentially functioning as an additional (and more impactful) extension of th ...

and a signal flare, allegedly arrived by sea and stormed the Bella Vista Hotel in the

Red Sea The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; ...

city of

Hurghada Hurghada (; ar, الغردقة ', ) is a city in the Red Sea Governorate of Egypt. It is one of the country's main tourist centres located on the Red Sea coast. Overview Hurghada was founded in the early 20th century. For many decades it wa ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

, stabbing two foreign tourists from

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

and one from Sweden. (Early reports incorrectly stated that the victims were one German and one Danish national.) One of the attackers, 21-year-old student Mohammed Hassan Mohammed Mahfouz, was killed by police as he tried to take a woman hostage. The other attacker was injured. The

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant An Islamic state is a state that has a form of government based on Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a translation of the Arabic term ...

claimed responsibility.

Attack

An Egyptian court found that the attack was incited by a Syria-based operative of the

Islamic State An Islamic state is a state that has a form of government based on Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a translation of the Arabic term ...

who was in contact with the perpetrators. According to The Independent, both attackers carried knives and pellet guns. According to

Al Jazeera Al Jazeera ( ar, الجزيرة, translit-std=DIN, translit=al-jazīrah, , "The Island") is a state-owned Arabic-language international radio and TV broadcaster of Qatar. It is based in Doha and operated by the media conglomerate Al Jazeera ...

, they carried "a gun, a knife and a suicide belt." All roads into and out of Hurghada were closed as Egyptian security searched for additional attackers. According to BBC security analyst Frank Gardner, the

ISIS Isis (; ''Ēse''; ; Meroitic: ''Wos'' 'a''or ''Wusa''; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎, romanized: ʾs) was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kin ...

goal in inciting such attacks is to undermine crucial support tourism provides to the Egyptian economy.

Assailants

There were two attackers, Mohamad Hassan Mohamed Mahfouz and Mohamed Magdy Abul Kheir. Mahfouz was shot dead at the scene; Kheir was wounded. Kheir was charged with possessing ammunition and firearms, joining an illegal group, and attempted murder. He was given a life sentence. An operative of the

, Ahmad Abdel Salam Mansour, an Egyptian national operating out of Syrian, was tried in absentia by an Egyptian court on charges of having incited the two attackers. He was sentenced in absentia to life in prison.

Response

Hisham Zaazou, Egypt's Minister of Tourism, responded by announcing new security measures to protect tourists. The attack was one of 78 described by

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

as underreported terrorist attacks.

Impact

Egypt, which is a country that depends on tourism saw tourism nosedive during the revolution. Once the country's government began to stabilize and tourism began picking up, terrorists began targeting tourism sites. Due to this and other attacks, 2016 was a "tough year" for the tourism industry in Egypt.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hurghada attack Attacks on hotels in Africa Attacks on tourists Hurghada ISIL terrorist incidents in Egypt Islamic terrorist incidents in 2016 January 2016 crimes in Africa January 2016 events in Africa Red Sea Governorate Sinai insurgency Terrorist incidents in Egypt in 2016 Terrorist incidents involving knife attacks

Attack

Assailants

Response

Impact

See also

References