Officials in Cairo greet a plane carrying the European tourists freed after a 10-day kidnap ordeal. Photograph: Khaled Desouki/AFP/Getty ImagesTroops Rescue Kidnapped Egypt Tour Group -- The Guardian
Overnight operation by Egyptian and Sudanese forces ends 10-day ordeal of five Germans, five Italians and Romanian
Eleven European tourists and eight local guides kidnapped 10 days ago in Egypt have been rescued by troops and special forces, officials said today.
The five Germans, five Italians and one Romanian were rescued in an overnight operation by Egyptian and Sudanese forces near the Sudan-Chad border, an Egyptian security official said.
The Egyptian defence minister, Hussein Tantawi, said half of the kidnappers were killed in the rescue operation, according to the state news agency Mena. The report did not give a precise number or details on the rescue.
The Italian foreign minister, Franco Frattini, suggested Italian and German special forces were involved. He told the Sky TG24 news channel that Sudan and Egypt carried out "a highly professional operation" with the "intervention of Italian intelligence and experts from the special forces" from Germany and Italy.
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My Comment: I guess this is going to kill the tourism industry for this part of the world.