Egypt: Tourism minister describes hotel attack as "amateur"

Egyptian tourism minister Hicham Zazou says he will visit Hurghada on Saturday where gun men attacked tourists on Friday.

Three European tourists from Austria and Sweden suffered knife wounds after the attack.

The attack occured at the red sea resort of Hurghada. According to police reports one assailant was killed and another injured during the crossfire.

The interior ministry said in a statement that the assailants tried to enter the hotel room from its restaurant.

“The three wounded tourists are suffering from knife wounds but their situation is under control for now,” Egyptian tourism minister Hicham Zazou said.

Hurghada remains on high alert as all roads leading in and out of the zone have been closed.

The minister described the attack as “non professional” indicating that the reasons behind the attack were not yet clear. Authorities say investigations will speed up to reveal the reasons behind the attacks.

Isis has claimed responsibility of the attack claiming it targeted “jewish tourist”. This claim has been rejected by the police which believes the attackers targeted security agents.

Many jihadist violence attempts have been common in Egypt since the ousting of Mohamed Morsi in 2013.