Egypt: Gunmen kill three people at café in Al-Ayat December 23

Event

Unidentified gunmen killed at least three people and wounded six others in Al-Ayat (Giza province), some 50 km (31 mi) south of Cairo, late on Saturday, December 23 (local time). The two gunmen reportedly shot at people in a café in Al-Ayat before fleeing the scene on a motorcycle; while their motive for the attack is yet unknown, Egyptian officials suspect that the attack was criminal in nature, rather than terror-inspired. Egyptian security forces have begun an investigation into the incident, per state media reports.

Context

Egypt remains under a state of emergency, originally declared following Islamic State (IS) attacks on churches in Alexandria and Tanta, which killed at least 47 people on Palm Sunday in April 2017.

Egypt also faces an IS insurgency in the restive Sinai Peninsula, where hundreds of soldiers and police have been killed since 2013 in attacks by militants that have also carried out attacks in the Nile Valley and elsewhere in the country. Northeastern Sinai, on the border with Israel and the Gaza Strip, has been a particularly volatile area in the region.

Advice

Individuals in Al-Ayat and surrounding areas are advised to monitor developments to the situation and adhere to all instructions issued by the local authorities.

Due to the prevailing threat of terrorism, individuals in Egypt should report any suspicious objects or behavior to the authorities and always be on guard when visiting sites deemed particularly vulnerable to an attack (public transportation, train stations, ports, airports, public or government buildings, embassies or consulates, international organizations, schools and universities, religious sites, markets, hotels and restaurants frequented by foreigners/Westerners, festivals, etc.). Some governments advise their nationals against all travel to the Sinai Peninsula due to the persistent terrorist threat.