An Israeli group was the intended target of a terrorist attack last week that left 18 Greek tourists dead in Cairo.
In a statement sent to a news agency, Egypt’s largest Islamic militant group claimed responsibility for the deadly April 18 shooting attack outside Cairo’s Europa Hotel.
The statement said the Islamic Group had received information that an Israeli group staying in the hotel was about to board a tour bus, adding that it “was surprised when after the act was carried out, it was discovered that the Israeli group had been switched with another one.”
The organization called it “another step taken by the Egyptian security forces to protect Israelis.”
Egyptian police have arrested a number of suspects in connection with the attack.
Meanwhile, another Islamic militant group, the Vanguards of Conquest, urged Muslims around the world to target American and Israeli interests to avenge Israel’s ongoing campaign against Hezbollah targets in Lebanon.
It blamed the Israeli campaign on an anti-terror summit held last month in Egypt, and on the peace deals that Egypt, Jordan and the Palestinians have signed with Israel.
The Vanguards of Conquest is an offshoot of the Jihad Group, which assassinated Egyptian President Anwar Sadat in 1981 and which has targeted senior Egyptian officials in an anti-government campaign since 1992.
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