In their bloodiest attack yet, Islamist militants killed more than 60 people in front of one of Egypt's most magnificent pharaonic monuments yesterday. The six militants were later shot dead by police.
Twenty-five Swiss tourists, nine Japanese, seven Germans, five Britons and a Bulgarian were among the victims, diplomats here said. Interior ministry officials said six gunmen lay in wait for the tourists in the ruins of the Deir alBahri temple at Luxor, about 500km south of Cairo. A bus full of Japanese tourists was hijacked. The gunmen then opened fire, killing all those inside.
A second bus carrying French and German tourists was then stopped and driven for a mile before all the passengers were slaughtered, the security forces said.
The terrorists then entered the courtyard of the 3,400 year-old Hatshepsut Temple on Luxor's West Bank and shot a guard and two policemen before firing indiscriminately into the tour groups visiting the site, according to police sources.
Eyewitness accounts described panicked tourists scrambling into nearby tombs or hiding behind columns in efforts to avoid the bullets.
A local doctor said the attackers spent half-an-hour chasing down their quarry, some using long knives to kill their victims. "It was carnage," he said. "The killers had more than enough time."
A gun-battle battle followed as armed policemen guarding the temple fired back on the attackers and then chased them as they tried to escape over the desert mountains surrounding the monument.
Egypt's main armed Islamic militant group, the Gama'a Islamiyya, admitted responsibility for the attack. Police said messages from the group admitting responsibility were found at the scene.
Contradictory accounts from different officials and eyewitnesses gave the number of attackers as 20, making estimates of the number of dead and wounded difficult.
State television said that six gunmen, two policemen, four other Egyptians and many foreigners were among those killed. Dozens of other people were wounded. Aircraft ferried the wounded from Luxor to a military hospital in Cairo.
There are not thought to be any Irish victims but this cannot be confirmed until a British consular official completes a visit to Luxor today.
Militant attacks have killed 34 foreign tourists in the last five years, but a total of at least 1,100 people, mostly militants and policemen, have died in the Egyptian violence.
The results of all this for Egypt's tourist industry are likely to be devastating. Tour operators in Egypt - until now expecting their best ever season - say they are bracing for a bleak winter.
The Egyptian ambasssador to Ireland, Mr Abdallah Fouad Hafez, said last night that despite yesterday's massacre at Luxor his country remained "a very safe place to go to" for a visit. People in Ireland would be aware, he said, that whether here, the UK, or the US for instance, safety could not be assured in advance. "There is no 100 per cent guarantee anywhere in the world," he said. A spokesman for the Department of Foreign Affairs said last night it was offering "no particular advice" to Irish people who might be planning to visit Egypt. As with going on holidays anywhere, they should make their own judgement, while being careful and vigilant if they go there, or anywhere else.
Mr Alan Perkins, of Falcon travel company, said that in his view, following yesterday's events, Luxor was probably now the safest place in Egypt to visit. He might not encourage families to go there, but as for young, single people it was a matter for themselves.