JERUSALEM (JTA) — An Islamist group linked to al-Qaida claimed responsibility for the apparent suicide bombing of a tour bus on the Egypt-Israel border that left at least four dead.
Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis took responsibility for Sunday’s attack on Egyptian soil and promised others to disrupt the country’s economy, tourism and military, according to reports. Three South Korean tourists and the Egyptian driver were reported killed and at least 13 passengers were wounded in the attack on the Israel-bound bus traveling from the Sinai Peninsula.
The Egyptian deputy interior minister, Gen. Abdel-Fattah Osman, told the Al-Hayat newspaper that the attack likely was perpetrated by a suicide bomber on the bus. Osman said a hotel security camera showed a man not related to the trip boarding the bus.
Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood said on Twitter that the explosion killed three “Zionists,” according to the Times of Israel. The 31 South Koreans on the tour bus were on a church trip to visit holy sites in Egypt, Israel and Turkey.
