Islamist group claims responsibility for border bus attack

JERUSALEM (JTA) — An Islamist group linked to Al-Qaida claimed responsibility for the attack on a tour bus traveling from the Sinai Peninsula to Israel, which left at least four dead.

Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis took responsibility for the attack on Egyptian soil and promised others in order to disrupt the country’s economy, tourism, and military, according to reports.

Three South Korean tourists and the Egyptian bus driver were reported killed in the attack, and at least 13 passengers were wounded.

Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood in a tweet said the explosion killed three “Zionists,” according to the Times of Israel, despite the fact that the dead were South Koreans.

The 31 South Koreans on the tour bus were on a church trip to visit holy sites in Egypt, Israel, and Turkey.

Egyptian deputy interior minister told Egypt’s Al-Hayat that the attack likely was perpetrated by a suicide bomber on board the bus. A hotel security camera showed a man not related to the trip boarding the bus, he said.