Two Brazilian tourists kidnapped in Egypt

CAIRO - Two Brazilian tourists and their Egyptian guide were kidnapped by armed Bedouins in Egypt's Sinai on Sunday afternoon, a senior security official told Xinhua.

Mahmoud El-Hevnawy, security chief of South Sinai, said the two tourists were teenage girls. They were on their way back from the Saint Catherine monastery when they were kidnapped by six armed Bedouins.

This was the third kidnapping case in the area since February. Two Americans and three South Korean tourists were abducted by Bedouins in the area on February 3 and February 10 respectively. The kidnappers demanded the release of their relatives who were jailed for involvement in terrorist activities.

On Friday, Bedouins in North Sinai ended their eight consecutive days of siege of the camp of an international peacekeeping force after negotiations with the authorities for similar demands.