Egypt Blames Travel Agency for Airstrikes that Killed Mexican Tourists

The official Egyptian investigation into the airstrike that killed a group of Mexican tourists in Egypt's Western desert has blamed a travel agency for their deaths, according to Mexico’s foreign minister.

Eight Mexican tourists and four Egyptians died Sep. 13, 2015 during a lunch stop on the way to the Bahariya oasis after an Egyptian military aircraft bombed their vehicles. Survivors say they were hit by strikes from a plane and a helicopter firing at a distance.

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Immediately after the killings Cairo said the military had mistaken the tourists for Islamic State group terrorists, who have a presence in Egypt's north Sinai, as they were in a restricted area during a government operation against the militants.

However, the latest investigation – which is close to completion according to Mexico’s foreign minister, Claudia Ruiz Massieu – concludes that the travel agency which booked the trip is primarily responsible for the killings as it lacked the official permits to take the tourists to the restricted area.

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The Egyptian tourism ministry “found that the administrative authorities and the travel agency should have had more clarity on the permit and in that sense would eventually be responsible,” Massieu said Wednesday.

Massieu also confirmed that the victims and families of the dead will be compensated appropriately, regardless of the result of the inquiry.

“We are here to provide psychological, medical, and legal support to the victims, following the development and outcome of the investigation,” she said.

Six other Mexican tourists were wounded in the attack.

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The killings prompted calls for renewed scrutiny of a recent increase in U.S. and European arms sales to Egypt amid reports that the local military kills those in the restricted areas indiscriminately, although the government denies this claim.

“The attack gives a message that the Egyptian security forces are not really well trained. They use the weapons that they receive from western states,” said Mohamed Elmessiry, a researcher on Egypt at Amnesty International.

Cairo has promised a full and "transparent" inquiry, although media in Egypt have been banned from publishing any details on the incident or the investigation.

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