Two American tourists kidnapped in Egypt’s Sinai

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REPORTING FROM CAIRO -- Two American tourists and their guide were kidnapped Friday after gunmen stopped their minivan not far from St. Catherine’s Monastery in the Sinai Peninsula, according to Egyptian media reports.

The Interior Ministry said negotiations were underway for the release of the women and their Egyptian guide. The three were abducted when assailants, believed to be Bedouins, stopped their van near Mt. Sinai. Three other people on board were left behind as the women and guide were moved to another car and driven into the mountains.

The identities of the Americans were not immediately released.

Kidnapping has increased recently in the Sinai, large swathes of which are controlled by Bedouin tribes and criminal networks. The abduction of the Americans follows the kidnapping earlier this week of 25 Chinese workers. They were quickly released.

Bedouin kidnappers usually demand a ransom or the freeing of clansmen imprisoned for robbery, terrorism and gun smuggling. Bedouins have long complained of neglect and discrimination by the Egyptian government, which has underfunded social and economic programs across the Sinai.

The kidnapping came as Egypt’s tourism industry is reeling from months of protests and political unrest. Tourism is down by 30% and is not expected to rise amid increasing lawlessness that over the last week included a string of bank robberies and a soccer riot that killed 74 people Wednesday in Port Said.

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-- Jeffrey Fleishman