Police thwarted an attack at an ancient temple site in the Egyptian city of Luxor on Wednesday, killing two of three armed assailants who tried to get through security at the popular tourist attraction, the country’s Interior Ministry said.
Five people — security personnel and Egyptian civilians — were hurt, with injuries including gunshot wounds and bruises, the country’s Health Ministry said.
A third attacker was injured, the Interior Ministry said. It wasn’t immediately clear whether that person was among the five injured cited by the Health Ministry.
Security personnel confronted the three attackers when they tried to get through security at Luxor’s ancient Karnak temple complex. In the process, two attackers were killed: one from the detonation of the explosives he was carrying, and another was shot in the head, the Interior Ministry added.
Luxor is a popular tourist destination on the Nile River about 600 kilometers (370 miles) from Cairo. The city’s west bank is home to some of Egypt’s most prized ancient temples and monuments.
In 1997, Islamist extremists killed more than 50 tourists at Luxor, in one of the Middle East’s most deadly terror attacks in the last 20 years.