“Bomb hits tourist bus near Egypt’s Giza Pyramids, at least 17 wounded”, Israel Hayom, May 19, 2019:
A roadside bomb hit a tourist bus on Sunday near the Giza Pyramids, wounding at least 17 people including tourists, Egyptian officials said.
The officials said the bus was traveling on a road close to the under-construction Grand Egyptian Museum, which is located adjacent to the Giza Pyramids but is not yet open to tourists.
The bus was carrying at least 25 people, mostly from South Africa, officials added.
The attack comes as Egypt’s vital tourism industry is showing signs of recovery after years in the doldrums because of the political turmoil and violence that followed a 2011 uprising that toppled former leader Hosni Mubarak.
The officials said security forces cordoned off the site of the explosion and the wounded were taken to a nearby hospital.
The explosion damaged a windshield of another car, they said. Footage circulated online shows shattered windows of the bus.
In a statement issued by the antiquities ministry, Atif Moftah, general supervisor of the Grand Egyptian Museum, said the explosion did not cause any damage to the museum.
No group has immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. It is the second to target foreign tourists near the famed pyramids in less than six months. In December, a bus carrying 15 Vietnamese tourists was hit by a roadside bomb, killing at least three of them.
Egypt has battled Islamic terrorists for years in the Sinai Peninsula in an insurgency that has occasionally spilled over to the mainland, hitting minority Christians or tourists…..
Mirta says
It seems imposible to stop all this.
strats4ever says
Impossible,no – distasteful, yes. The more the ideology spreads unchecked, the more distasteful the solution will be.All we’d need to do currently is enforce existing laws in the west. If we procrastinate…..
lovefreedom88 says
I shudder when I think of the time when the great pyramids are also destroyed like the 5,000 year old Brahman Buddha statues.
gravenimage says
Muslims also severely damaged the Sphinx.
Westman says
Islam, all dressed up to conquer and nowhere to go – letting off pressure on unbelieving tourists.
Islam appears as a basket that smothers the light on the hill; a creator of conflicted minds that would destroy unbelieving innocents with one hand while giving succor to its own with the other; a belief in arrogant supremacy while groveling in deepest slavery to a magical “god”, on cue from towers, like the minions of a Greek mythology or denizens of a Marvel Comic of the “gods”.
Where is Islam’s light on a hill? Is it only the flash of an explosion and the glint of a sword? Can it do anything for unbelievers without seeking something for itself? After committing mayhem it screams, “look at me!”, like some small child who needs attention. And like that small child, it does not consider that it may have damaged its own viability or that it can never be on equal footing in a world of adults.
James Lincoln says
Absolutely true, Westman.
And followers of Islam still have the gall to consider themselves to be “the best of people.”
Beyond revolting.
CRUSADER says
It’s also the ARAB MIND — which is very prone to such antics of aggression.
I’ve noted though that for the most part, when an Arab has become Christian
and accepted Jesus in his (or her) heart, their anxiety drops and their inner
confidence rises. It’s a wonderful thing to appreciate.
gravenimage says
This is not about ethnicity, but ideology.
James Lincoln says
During the mid-1990s while on active duty, I spent some time in Hurghada, Egypt awaiting air transportation to the Persian Gulf.
During my time there, I got to see firsthand the medical “capabilities” of that particular region in Egypt.
The Egyptian resort hotel that I was staying in was comfortable enough but once you ventured beyond its gates you are witnessing an infrastructure one step up from a third world country.
Medical services were unbelievably archaic. During my time there, a tour bus heading for the pyramids was involved in a serious accident. It was loaded with tourists from many Western countries, including the United States. Many of them died or suffered severe morbidity that likely would have been minimized if they had received standard Western-style medical care.
My point is to be very careful when choosing countries to include in your vacation plans. Always think of the medical infrastructure that is in place just outside the fancy resort. Read the State Department travel recommendations/warnings very carefully. The State Department also currently advises to use “increased caution due to terrorism in Egypt”.
I would not go there.
t. says
I agree with you, James, on the part concerning the high risk of terrorism against tourists perceived to be infidels.
Meanwhile, Egypt has changed a lot, I mean a lot, since the 1990’s. In many aspects, it is comparable to western countries, not only in touristic areas but in almost all of its main cities.
Most of the medical doctors there are very competent and the diagnostic part of patient care with the least invasive techniques is probably even better than in some western countries. I agree that more improvement is needed in some aspects of the health care system there such as the level of cleanliness in some of its general health institutions.
No place is perfect on this planet.
James Lincoln says
t., thanks for the reply.
I have not been to Egypt since 1990s so I am relying mostly on the US State Department for current information.
According to the US State Department website, “medical care is limited and well below US standards… Emergency and intensive care facilities are limited… Tap water in some locations is not potable.” A link to the site is provided below.
Yes, it is possible that medical care has improved since 1990s, but the bar at that time was very low.
The care varies widely throughout the country with Cairo having the most advanced facilities. Still, the best regional healthcare can be found in Dubai and many wealthy Egyptians opt to travel to the UAE for treatment.
I would not recommend any Westerner traveling to Egypt solely to save money on a medical procedure. There are just too many unknowns – and lack of recourse – if something goes wrong.
True, no place is perfect on this planet but some places are markedly better than others.
https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages/Egypt.html
t. says
When you mentioned the State Department (S.D.) advisory againt travelling to Egypt, while I am not arguing against it, the first thing that came to my mind is the hypocrisy, nearsightedness, wilfull ignorance and majoring in minor things and minoring in major things on the part of the State Department and all previous Administrations, for that matter.
The same State Department is engaged in, at least up till recently, through different policies , decisions and proposals to undermine the current administration efforts to curb the threat of terrorism through meaningful modifications and changes to current immigration policies. It’s the same S.D. That refused many legitimate Christian refugees from Iraq and Syria while admiting thousands of Muslims from the same countries. One of the reports, from over two years ago, mentioned that it was a ratio of 12:1.
The same S. D. which neglected credible threats of an imminent attack by Islamists on the US embassy in Libya which later led to the loss of several American lives including that of the ambassador.
The same S. D. that denied entry of some nons from Iraq who were coming to attend a conference pertinent to the current holocaust carried out against the native Christians of Iraq.
The same S. D. which over the years, through different decisions and schemes, actively helped in covering up the extent of Islamic threat to the US mainland and and hence lending Islam a helping hand to complete its conquest of the US.
While potentially it may be saving some lives, which is still very much appreciated and necessary in as of saving those lives, it’s selling the lives of millions of future generations of this country short by helping bringing this country gradually into submission to a creeping Sharia and Islamic hegemony, after which point you will start seeing the same results you now see in those lands which were once great civilizations,
The Byzantines (eastern Roman Empire); the ancient Egyptian civilization; the Assyrians; the Babelonians; the Persians; and the ancient Indian subcontinent which held its own great civilization, where are they now? Turkey; Egypt; Syria; Lebanon; Iraq; Iran; Afghanistan; Pakistan…
”True, no place is perfect on this planet but some places are markedly better than others.”
Yes regarding specific points or domains under observation, and for some people only. Meanwhile,globally, covering all points and domains of interest for each and everyone, I have my reservations about this one.
On a personal level, you have all my respect for serving in the army, potentially risking your own life following your conviction and belief to defend and protect the lives of others.
gravenimage says
Grim account, James–thanks.
gravenimage says
Egypt: jihad attack on tourist bus injures 17
…………………
Awful–pious Muslims there have been attacking tourists there for decades.
unbeliever1 says
–And they haven’t learned a thing after all these jihadi attacks.
gravenimage says
Unbeliever1, my mother-in-law, an *extremely* intelligent, even brilliant woman involved with Egyptology work at a museum, still went to Egypt following the Luxor Massacre where Jihadists slaughtered 62 people. When she–thankfully!–came back safe, she said that there had been no reason to worry.
My English cousin and her husband–both very intelligent people, she a widely published psychologist and he an award-winning filmmaker whose work has been nominated for an Oscar, booked an anniversary cruise down the Nile during the “Arab Spring”. They never got to take that cruise, and had a hard time getting out of the country, spending three days at the airport waiting for any flight out. They were lucky–they were able to fly to Heathrow. But they had Americans, Germans, and even Australians on board who just grabbed the first flight out to the civilized world. Afterwards, they said that no one could have anticipated trouble.
There is a *lot* of denial out there, I’m afraid–*still*.
End PC says
As long as there’s lots of different jihadist groups that have a gripe at some country’s policies they are going to target that country’s tourist industry. A world of mayhem compliments of the “Religion of peace.”
Paco says
Egypt produces nothing , it would starve to death if it wasn’t for American handouts. It’s only income comes from tourism to the Pyramids which were.built by a far superior race than now occupies this shithole of a country . It’s laughable to think that the savages that now populate this country are assumed to be descendants of the noble and sophisticated ancient Egyptians. Today’s Egyptians are lazy , hateful and useless , ( witness the mass rapes in Tahir Square during the Arab spring , the now daily horrific sexual harassment throughout Egypt , and the ongoing persecution of Christans throughout the country ) I strongly advise anyone wanting to visit Egypt to avoid it like the plague .
UNCLE VLADDI says
Creepy – especially considering I’ve been on those very same tourist buses in Cairo in the past.