Mexico FM flies to Cairo for answers on attack

MEXICO CITY - Agence France-Presse

Mexico's Foreign Minister Claudia Ruiz Massieu reads a statement in Mexico City on September 14, 2015. AFP Photo

Mexico's foreign minister flew to Cairo late on Sept.14 to seek answers from Egyptian authorities over an air strike that mistakenly killed Mexican tourists.

"We face a terrible loss of human lives and an unjustified attack that obligates us to make the protection of our citizens the priority," Foreign Minister Claudia Ruiz Massieu told reporters at Mexico City's international airport.
 
Ruiz Massieu said she was traveling with seven relatives of some of the victims as well as Mexican doctors to care for the wounded. A foreign ministry official told AFP the plane took off at 11:46 pm (0446 GMT on Sept.15).
 
At least two Mexicans were confirmed dead, while another six were wounded. She said her government still could not confirm what happened to six other nationals.
 
Egyptian authorities have said that a total of 12 people were killed and 10 wounded on Sept.13 when security forces fired on the group of tourists by mistake while hunting jihadists in the Western Desert.
 
Ruiz Massieu said she would hold talks with top Egyptian officials in order to "obtain first-hand information that can clear up the circumstances of this deplorable event which has cost the lives of innocent Mexican tourists."  

Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto has demanded an exhaustive investigation from Egyptian authorities, which vowed to form an investigative committed headed by the prime minister.