12 people were killed and 10 more were injured on Sunday when Egyptian anti-terror forces attacked a Mexican tourist convoy they believed to be militants, during an anti-terror operation, the BBC reports.

According to the report, the tour buses were traveling in a “restricted zone” at the time of the attack.

“A joint force from the police and military were tracking terrorist elements in the oasis area of the Western Desert when they accidentally engaged four four-wheel drives belonging to a Mexican tourist group,” the country’s Ministry of Interior said in a statement.

Photo credit: Imgur

“The incident resulted in the death of 12 Mexicans and Egyptians.” The circumstances of which are currently being investigated.

“Mexico condemns these acts against our citizens and has called on the government of Egypt for a thorough investigation of what happened,” Mexico’s president, Enrique Peña Nieto, said in a statement on social media, according to The Guardian.

“Earlier in the day, ISIS-affiliated fighters claimed they had “resisted a military operation” in the desert,” The Guardian wrote.

The Egyptian government said that “operations will not stop until the area is cleared of militants.”

Sources: BBC, The Guardian

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