Luxor massacre

Luxor massacre
Djeser-Djeseru (Hatshepsut’s Temple), the location of the attack
Location	Deir el-Bahri, Egypt
Date	17 November 1997
Weapon(s)	Automatic firearms, knives
Death(s)	62 (not including attackers)
Injured	> 26
Suspected perpetrator(s)	al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya

The Luxor Massacre refers to the killing of 62 people, mostly tourists, that took place on 17 November 1997, at Deir el-Bahri, an archaeological site and major tourist attraction located across the River Nile from Luxor in Egypt.

The attack is thought to have been instigated by exiled leaders of Al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya, an Egyptian Islamist organization, attempting to undermine the July 1997 "Nonviolence Initiative", devastate the Egyptian economy^[1] and provoke the government into repression that would strengthen support for anti-government forces.^[2] However, the attack led to internal divisions among the militants, and resulted in the declaration of a ceasefire to suspend hostilities.^[3]

Location

Deir el-Bahri is one of Egypt's top tourist attractions, most notably for the spectacular mortuary temple of 18th-dynasty female pharaoh Hatshepsut, known as "Djeser-Djeseru."

The attack

In the mid-morning attack, terrorists from the Islamic Group and Jihad Talaat al-Fath ("Holy War of the Vanguard of the Conquest") massacred 62 people at the attraction. The six assailants were armed with automatic firearms and knives, and disguised as members of the security forces. They descended on the Temple of Hatshepsut at around 08:45. With the tourists trapped inside the temple, the killing went on systematically for 45 minutes, during which many bodies, especially of women, were mutilated with machetes. A note praising Islam was found inside one disemboweled body.^[4] The dead included a five-year-old British child and four Japanese couples on their honeymoons.^[5][6]

The attackers then hijacked a bus, but ran into a checkpoint of armed Egyptian tourist police and military forces. One of the terrorists was wounded in the shootout and the rest fled into the hills where their bodies were found in a cave, apparently having committed suicide together.^[7]

Casualties

Four Egyptians were killed, three of the police officers and one tour guide. Of the 58 foreign tourists killed, 36 were Swiss, 10 were Japanese, 6 were from the United Kingdom, 4 came from Germany, and 2 were Colombians.^[4]

Reaction

After the event Hosni Mubarak replaced his Interior Minister, General Hassan al-Alfi, with General Habib al-Adly.

The tourist industry – in Egypt in general and in Luxor in particular – was seriously affected by the resultant slump in visitors and remained depressed until sinking even lower with the September 11 attacks in the United States in 2001, the July 23, 2005, Sharm el-Shiekh attacks, and the 2006 Dahab bombings.

The massacre, however, marked a decisive drop in Islamist terrorists' fortunes in Egypt by turning Egyptian public opinion overwhelmingly against them. Spontaneous demonstrations broke out in Luxor almost immediately against the terrorists, demanding action by the government and leading to a visit by Mubarak to the region a few days later.

Organizers and supporters of the attack quickly realised that the strike had been a massive miscalculation and reacted with denials of involvement. The day after the attack, Islamic Group leader Rifai Taha claimed the attackers intended only to take the tourists hostage, despite the evidence of the immediate and systematic nature of the slaughter. Others denied Islamist involvement completely. Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman blamed Israelis for the killings, and Ayman Zawahiri maintained the attack was the work of the Egyptian police.^[8][9]

See also

• Terrorism in Egypt
• List of massacres in Egypt

References

1. ^ "Solidly ahead of oil, Suez Canal revenues, and remittances, tourism is Egypt's main hard currency earner at $6.5 billion per year." (in 2005) ... concerns over tourism's future accessed 27 September 2007
2. ^ Wright, Looming Towers, (2006), p.256-7
3. ^ El-Zayyat, Montasser, "The Road to al-Qaeda", 2004. tr. by Ahmed Fakry
4. ^ ^{a b} BBC Documentary on the Luxor Massacre, 2002
5. ^ Alan Cowell, `At Swiss Airport, 36 Dead, Home from Luxor,` New York Times, November 20, 1997,
6. ^ Douglas Jehl, `At Ancient Site Along the Nile, Modern Horror, New York Times, November 19, 1997
7. ^ Wright, Lawrence, Looming Towers, (2006), p.258
8. ^ Wright, Looming Towers, (2006), p.257-8
9. ^ ...Egypt tries to understand the Luxor massacre 1 December 1997 (BBC News)

External links

• YouTube BBC Documentary on the Luxor Massacre
• Tourists massacred at temple. 17 November 1997 (BBC News)
• Bin Laden 'behind Luxor massacre', 13 May 1999 (BBC News)
• Das Massaker von Luxor, 12 July 2011 (SF 1)

Coordinates: 25°44′18″N 32°36′23″E / 25.73833°N 32.60639°E / 25.73833; 32.60639