US diplomats banned from visiting religious sites outside Cairo

The US Embassy in Egypt warned its personnel against visiting religious sites outside the greater Cairo area, citing terror attacks in a statement on Monday.

MENA

2 min read

The New Arab

06 June, 2017

Copts have increasingly come under attack from the Sinai-based militants [AFP]

Personnel assigned to the US Mission in Egypt are prohibited from visiting religious sites outside greater Cairo until further notice, the US embassy said on Monday, in a security message posted on its website.

"Terrorists have attacked targets associated with the Christian community in Egypt. Incidents have occurred in both urban and isolated settings. Additional attacks may be possible," the message said.

"Until further notice, personnel assigned to the US Mission in Egypt are prohibited from visiting religious sites outside greater Cairo. US citizens residing in or visiting Egypt should take prudent steps to enhance their personal security," it said.

The embassy also urged its personnel to follow security guidance from a travel warning released by the US State Department on 23 December last year, putting restrictions on traveling to Egypt's Western Desert and Sinai Peninsula beyond the tourist resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, due to the presence of militant groups operating in the area.

In response, a security source told Egyptian website Youm7 that the embassy's announcement was merely a "routine precautionary measure" that did not necessarily indicate instability in the country.

Since the military overthrow of Islamist president Mohammad Morsi in 2013, Egypt has been fighting a long-running insurgency by the local affiliate of the Islamic State militant group, with hundreds of soldiers, policemen and civilians killed in the insurgency.

Christians, who make up around 10 percent of Egypt's population of 92 million, have increasingly come under attack from the Sinai-based militants.

The latest attack targeted a bus carrying Coptic Christians in the southern Egyptian city of Minya last month, killing 30 and injuring at least 25.

The shooting was the latest in a string of deadly assaults on the beleaguered Coptic Christian community in Egypt.

In April, suicide bombings in the Nile Delta cities of Tanta and Alexandria killed 46 worshippers and injured more than 100 others as they celebrated Palm Sunday mass.

IS claimed responsibility for both the shooting and the bombing and threatened further attacks against Egypt's Christians.