Governor of Luxor quits amid controversy

The newly appointed governor of the Egyptian province of Luxor has resigned amid controversy over his links to an Islamist group that carried out an attack on tourists there in 1997. Adel Khayat's appointment infuriated many Egyptians and prompted the tourism minister to submit his resignation. President Mohammed Morsi had defended Mr Khayat's appointment. Mr Khayat is a member of the political wing of Gamaa Islamiya, which carried out the raid that killed 58 tourists. Mr Khayat has denied any role in Gamaa Islamiya's militant past and had pledged to protect tourists. He told a news conference on Sunday: "We will not accept that one drop of blood be spilt because of a position that I did not personally aspire to at any time." One of Gamaa Islamiya's leaders, Safwat Abdel Ghani, told local media the group had "asked the new governor to resign for the sake of Egypt". Luxor is a prime destination for tourists, though the local economy has been struggling as visitor numbers have dropped since Egypt's political uprising in 2011. Tourism workers there had protested against the appointment and Tourism Minister Hesham Zazou offered his resignation to the prime minister.