Egypt's Interior Ministry said Saturday that the country's security forces killed 40 "terrorists" in three separate but simultaneous raids in North Sinai and Giza areas.

The raids came a day after a roadside bomb near Giza pyramids killed three Vietnamese tourists and their guide.

According to the ministry, 40 militants were killed in "synchronized security strikes at three terrorist hideouts."

Two raids in Giza killed 30 people, while the remaining were killed in the restive North Sinai area, the ministry said in a statement, adding that police seized large quantities of weapons and firearms in the swoops.

The "terrorist elements" were planning to carry out a series of attacks on state institutions, tourism facilities and churches across the country, state television said Saturday.

Egypt has battled Islamic militants for years in the Sinai Peninsula in an insurgency that has occasionally spilled over to the mainland, hitting minority Christians or tourists. However, the Friday assault was the first attack to target foreign tourists in almost two years.

The country's tourism industry is slowly recovering from years of political turmoil and violence that followed the 2011 Arab Spring uprising that toppled former leader Hosni Mubarak.

Egypt's deadliest terror attacks 1997 Luxor massacre Sixty-two tourists were killed at Egypt's Deir el-Bahri archaeological site in Luxor. Six assailants, thought to have been linked to al-Qaida, disguised themselves as members of the security forces and descended on the temple armed with automatic machine guns and knives. Egyptian tourist police and military forces eventually stopped the attackers, who were either killed or committed suicide.

Egypt's deadliest terror attacks 2004 Sinai bombings A series of bomb attacks targeting tourists in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula killed 34 people and injured 171. Most of the casualties were killed after a truck drove into the lobby of the Taba Hilton. Two more bombs went off at campsites some 50 kilometers away, killing a handful of people. Roughly half the casualties were foreigners, including 12 Israelis.

Egypt's deadliest terror attacks 2005 Sharm el-Sheikh attacks The attack in the Egyptian resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh was carried out on Egypt's Revolution Day and for a decade remained the worst Islamist attack in Egypt's history. A series of bombs planted close to bars and restaurants, as well as by a hotel, killed 88 people and injured 150. The majority of victims were locals, although a number of tourists also died, including 11 British nationals.

Egypt's deadliest terror attacks 2006 Dahab bombings The attack on the the Egyptian resort city of Dahab marked the third consecutive year that tourist resorts had been targeted. A series of blasts in a restaurant, a café and a market killed at least 23 people, most of whom were local, and wounded around 80. Egyptian officials maintain that the attacks were carried out by the Islamist cell known as Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad, a forerunner of "IS."

Egypt's deadliest terror attacks 2015 Metrojet Flight 9268 disaster All 224 mostly Russian passengers were killed when Metrojet Flight 9268 suddenly dropped out of the sky over the Egypt's Sinai peninsula, shortly after having taken off from Sharm el-Sheikh international airport. Authorities agree that it appeared a bomb had been snuck on board. The so-called "Islamic State" jihadi group claimed responsibility for the attack.

Egypt's deadliest terror attacks 2016 Attacks on Egypt's Coptic Christian minorities While Egypt's Coptic Christians have for decades been targeted by Islamists, deadly attacks on Coptic churches have increased dramatically in recent months. At least 102 Egyptian Christians have been killed in four separate attacks since December 2016.

Egypt's deadliest terror attacks 2017 Coptic church and Al-Rawda mosque bombings On April 9, 2017, the Coptic church faith followers encountered devastating twin blasts in Tanta and Alexandria as they celebrated Palm Sunday, killing 28 and 17 people respectively. On November 24, 2017, a bomb went off outside of Al-Rawda mosque in the city of Al-Arish in the northern Sinai Peninsula, which claimed the lives of more than 300 people and injured 109 others. Author: David Martin



shs/ng (Reuters, dpa, AFP)

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