JIHADIS armed with a gun, knives and a suicide belt wounded three tourists at an Egyptian hotel popular with Brits.
Three assailants are believed to have arrived by sea to launch the assault at the Bella Vista Hotel in the Red Sea resort of Hurghada, security sources said.
The attackers carried a black flag with the Muslim testament of faith written in white. It is similar to those often paraded by Islamic State fighters.
Security forces claimed they had killed one attacker who was wearing a suicide bomb. Another two of the assailants entered the hotel’s restaurant and lashed out with knives.
One of the knifemen was killed and the other seriously injured.
Egyptian officials said the terrorists were aiming to kidnap tourists.
The three wounded tourists - believed to be two Austrians and a Swede - were rushed to hospital. One was treated and discharged but there was no word on the condition of the other two.
The resort was put on high alert with all roads in and out closed off.
British couple Kyle Hadden, 24, and Mark Higgins, 43, arrived in Hurghada just hours before the attack and were staying at a hotel next door.
Kyle said: “We were just walking along the beach after dropping our bags off in the room when we heard five gunshots.
“We thought they were fireworks, but then got back to our hotel and had a Facebook message from a friend asking if we were ok.”
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office last night told British nationals in the area to “remain in a safe location and follow the advice of the local authorities”.
The FCO website was not advising against travelling to the area last night.
The Islamic State militant group said an attack on Israeli tourists in Cairo on Thursday was carried out by its fighters, in response to a call by the group's leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, to target Jews "everywhere".
Security sources said those tourists were Israeli Arabs. None were hurt and Egyptian authorities said the attack was aimed at security forces.
A Russian passenger plane crashed in Sinai on October 31, killing all 224 people on board, most of whom were tourists returning home from the Red Sea resort of Sharm al-Sheikh.
Cairo says it has found no evidence of terrorism in the crash but Russia and Western governments have said the airliner was probably brought down by a bomb, and Islamic State said it had smuggled explosives on board.
Cairo says it has found no evidence of terrorism in the crash but Russia and Western governments have said the airliner was probably brought down by a bomb, and Islamic State said it had smuggled explosives on board.
Tourism is a cornerstone of the Egyptian economy but has been badly hit by years of political turmoil.
The attack on tourists in Hurghada follows one in Tunisia that killed 30 Britons in June.
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