I express my deep sorrow for the tragic incident that occurred recently resulting in the death and injury of a group of Korean tourists. I seize this moment to offer my sincerest condolences to the people and government of South Korea as well as the families of the victims.

I confirm that the investigations are still ongoing and that all concerned parties are keen and adamant on delivering the exact truth and facts pertaining to such a despicable act.

We, at the ministry of tourism, are ensuring that all security bodies are undertaking the necessary precautionary measures to guarantee that such an incident TO THE EXTENT POSSIBLE will not occur again.

The perpetuators and the guilty will be detained and prosecuted. Justice will be served. Law and order will prevail.

With reference to the communiqué attributed to Jamaat Ansar Bayt Al Maqdes, we would like to clarify the following:

- The attributed communiqué is not credible and has no grounds, as the Jamaat itself has repeatedly confirmed in all previous communiqués that it has no accounts on any social media platforms such as; Twitter, Facebook... etc.

- The Jamaat has no official e-mail account and does not communicate either with any official or non official bodies.

Finally, it is worth mentioning that many well respected and trusted media forums, think tanks, journalists, travel editors, columnists and news correspondents have been skeptical of and questioned the credibility of the account and the declaration altogether. 

-Ends-

For further information please contact: Nick Wheywell Nick.Wheywell@Rooster.co.uk