Tillerson affirms US support to Egypt in face of terrorism

CAIRO – 28 May 2017: Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry received a phone call from his U.S. counterpart Rex Tillerson who extended his condolences to the families of victims in Minya attack, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ahmed Abu Zied said on Saturday.

A group of masked gunmen had attacked a bus of Coptic Christians in the Egyptian governorate of Minya on Friday, killing 29 people and dozens injured, including women and children. The Islamic State (IS) terrorist group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Tillerson expressed his solidarity to Egyptian people and government in the face of terrorism, stressing the American administration’s support to Egypt’s anti-terrorism efforts, Abu Zied added in a statement.

He also expressed his country’s willingness to cooperate with Egypt in its fight against terrorism on intelligence and military levels, according to the statement.

For his part, Shoukry informed Tillerson about the Egyptian air strikes conducted Friday night against terrorist camps inside the Libyan territories, which came in the framework of his country’s right to defend its citizens.

Shoukry said that jihadists who attacked a bus carrying Coptic Christian had trained in Libyan militant camps, the statement said on Saturday.

“There was enough information and evidence of the terrorist elements involved in the (attack) having trained in these camps," Shoukry said.

In an official speech, Egypt’s President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi said that the army will not hesitate to target any training camps of terrorists inside or outside the country, and states that facilitate terrorist activities must be punished.

During the speech, Sisi extended a message to U.S. President Donald Trump, expressing his confidence in the American administration’s ability to face terrorism across the world.