Canada closes embassy in Egypt for security reasons

Canada has announced the temporary closure of its embassy in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, to the public amid ongoing fears over security.

The Canadian embassy said in a statement that it would be closed “due to security reasons,” on Monday, notifying Canadian citizens through a separate email that the embassy will remain closed “until further notice”.

The British embassy in Cairo also remained closed after it suspended all public services on Sunday.

British Ambassador to Cairo John Casson said the decision was taken to “ensure the security of the embassy and our staff.”

“We are working to restore full services as quickly as possible,” he said.

Both Canada and Britain have previously issued warnings to their citizens against travel to restive areas of Egypt, including parts of the Sinai Peninsula, where Egyptian militant group Ansar Beit al-Maqdis has pledged allegiance to the Takfiri ISIL terrorists.

The closure of the embassies come as the Egyptian militant group has claimed responsibility for the killing of American oil worker William Henderson in Egypt.

The group published pictures of Henderson’s passport and two identification cards, but did not mention when or how it killed him.

According to the passport and the identification cards, the 58-year-old American was from Texas and worked for Texas-based energy company Apache Corp. and Qarun Petroleum Co.

Meanwhile, a court in Egypt has designated as terrorist the Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, which has killed scores of Egyptian soldiers and police forces.