Shocking Image Of Mexican Convoy Attacked In Egypt Surfaces

An image purporting to show the wreckage from the Egyptian airstrike that killed eight Mexican tourists last week was released Wednesday.

Egyptian newspaper Al-Masry Al-Youm published a photo that appears to show several bombed-out vehicles in the White Desert.

The tour group, accompanied by a police escort, was traveling near the Farafra oasis in the White Desert when a military helicopter struck the convoy. The military later explained that it had mistaken the group for "terrorist elements."

The group had stopped about one mile off of the main road because one diabetic passenger asked to eat, The New York Times reported. The attacked killed 12 people in total.

Although the White Desert route is a highly trafficked tourist area, security concerns have called for tour groups to obtain a permit to visit. The Egyptian and Mexican governments both released statements claiming that the Mexican citizens were in an unauthorized area, but a relative of one of the victims told Vice News that the Egyptian government had given them permission.

Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto confirmed that eight of the deceased were Mexican. Six other wounded Mexicans are receiving care in a Cairo hospital.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi reached out to Nieto on Tuesday to assure him that Egypt was providing "all necessary help" to the wounded, Agence France-Presse reported.