Egypt: the American ambassador exposed to a vague incident

A spokesman for the American embassy in Cairo said yesterday that the American ambassador to Egypt, David Welsh, was on Saturday exposed to an unspecified incident while he was in his car, under the protection of the Egyptian police.

The spokesman Philip Frine said that Welsh was in the car between Sharm Esh Sheikh resort and the Swiss Canal when a small truck inserted itself between his car and one of the escorting security car for the procession of the ambassador and that the security procession was able to expel the small truck.

When one of the four Egyptian personal bodyguards for the ambassador approached the truck for inquiry "its driver left the place at very high speed before the security men fired two bullets against it," according to an Egyptian security source who played down the significance of the incident. The American spokesman, however, said that the incident resulted in no casualties and is still vague.