As many as 20 masked militants in Cairo fired at a group of tourists that included several Israeli Arabs. No one was injured in the Jan. 7 incident at the Barcelo Three Pyramids hotel, Ynet reported.
One gunman was arrested at the scene, and security forces were searching for the other individuals involved in the attack, according to the Egyptian Interior Ministry.
The ministry said protesters aligned with the Muslim Brotherhood opened fire and shot fireworks toward a tour bus and the hotel. But websites associated with the Islamic State wrote that it was behind the attack, describing it as a response to the recent call attributed to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, an Islamic State leader, to kill Jews.
Ahmad Tibi, an Israeli Arab lawmaker, wrote on Facebook that the Israelis there were part of a group of 45 people from Umm al-Fahm, Jaffa and Kfar Qassem, and that none had been injured.
The political turmoil in Egypt since 2011 and heightened activity by terrorists in Sinai have resulted in a sharp decline in the number of Israeli Jewish tourists to Egypt, though thousands of Israeli Arabs still travel there regularly. — jta