Egypt: Terrorist attacks drastically declined in 2018

CAIRO

Egyptian authorities said that terrorist attacks across the country have drastically declined in 2018.

“Year 2018 saw the lowest number of terrorist attacks compared to the past five years,” Egypt’s State Information Service (SIS) said in a report issued Tuesday.

The report said only eight attacks took place in Egypt last year, five of which were carried out by explosive devices.

"A total of 222 attacks took place in 2014, 199 attacks in 2016 and around 50 in 2017,” the SIS said.

On Friday, four people were killed, including three Vietnamese tourists, in a roadside bomb that targeted a tourist bus west of Cairo.

The SIS report said attacks in the restive Sinai Peninsula have also significantly declined, but without giving exact numbers.

In February, the Egyptian military launched a major security operation in Sinai to hunt down militants blamed for a string of attacks against security forces in the restive peninsula and other areas.

Egyptian authorities also tightened up security measures ahead of Christmas celebrations by Coptic Christians, who account for roughly 15 percent of Egypt’s overall population of some 104 million.

Egypt was roiled by turmoil in 2013 when the military deposed Mohamed Morsi, the country’s first freely elected president, in a coup.