At least 75 killed in Egypt Red Sea resort bombing

koniyakutz · July 23, 2005

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp.../159470/1/.html

SHARM EL-SHEIKH : Suicide car bombers unleashed a trail of carnage in Egypt's tourist-packed Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on Saturday, killing at least 75 people, including foreign tourists.

The attacks on the popular Sinai strip at the peak of the tourist season were the deadliest in Egypt, topping the 58 killed in Luxor eight years ago, and drew swift condemnation from around the world.

The Al-Qaeda Organisation in the Levant and Egypt said it carried out the multiple bombings in an Internet statement buts its authenticity could not be verified.

At least three bomb blasts rocked the town in quick succession shortly after 1:00 am (2200 GMT Friday).

In the most devastating of the strikes, a suicide bomber rammed his car into the Ghazala Garden hotel in the glitzy Naama Bay tourist strip.

"A suicide car bomber forced the barrier at the entrance of the hotel. A member of the security staff tried to stop him but he sped towards the reception and there was a huge explosion," a hotel employee told AFP.

An AFP reporter said the force of the blast sent debris flying more than 100 metres from the hotel, which was threatening to collapse.

Police said at least 30 were killed at the hotel, most of them Egyptian staff.

At least 75 people were killed, according to the latest toll from medical officials.

Interior Minister Habib al-Adly, in Sharm el-Sheikh to head up the rescue operation, said anti-terrorist units who had been rushed to the scene already had some leads which appeared to show a connection with October bombings that killed 34 people further north in the Sinai peninsula.

"We have indications that could lead security services to those responsible for these terrorist operations," he told the official MENA news agency. "These elements suggest that the bombings may be linked to those that took place in Taba."

The attacks dealt a fresh blow to the tourism industry so crucial to Egypt's economy, which was still recovering from the fallout of last year's bombings.

There have also been several attacks in tourist areas in Cairo in recent months, as Egypt prepares for its first multi-candidate presidential election in September.

Panicked tourists poured out of the many night spots dotting the Naama Bay stretch of the resort known to Egyptians as "the city of peace," where President Hosni Mubarak frequently hosts world leaders and Middle East summits.

"They (the bombers) are mad. What's the point of all this. They won't go to heaven. No religion can accept such a thing," said Carol, a young Briton who works as a barmaid in a pub.

Saturday's attacks followed a new terror scare on London's transport system on Friday after a series of bombings on July 7 that killed 52 people plus four suicide bombers.

An Italian tourist was among the dead, the foreign ministry confirmed in Rome. Eight Britons were among the wounded, the Foreign Office said, adding that an emergency team had been sent to Sharm.

Israel offered to send specialist army emergency teams to help with the rescue effort in the resort, a popular haunt for Israeli holidaymakers.

At least one Israeli was among the wounded but the foreign ministry said there were no immediate plans to order the evacuation of the 10,000 nationals believed to be vacationing in the Sinai at the peak of the summer holiday season.

An AFP correspondent saw an Italian tourist and his wife pacing up and down the main stretch of Naama Bay, desperately looking for their 17-year-old son.

Receptionists at several hotels said many guests had warned they would cut their holidays short and small groups of haggard tourists could be seen dragging their luggage among the debris to board buses leaving the resort.

Another bomb went off on a car park a few hundred metres away from the Ghazala hotel, smashing shop fronts.

An AFP correspondent saw an eviscerated body being evacuated by medics. At least five other bodies were still lying in the car park.

A third bomb ripped through a busy market area, killing an undetermined number of people, some of them foreigners.

"The blast took place at the edge of the souk. It was huge. There were still lots of people at terraces and shops were still open," said Ashraf, who owns a nearby restaurant popular with Russian tourists.

"I can't tell how many people were killed but it was carnage. The panic was immediate and I saw a man die of a heart attack following the blasts."

The attacks came on the 53rd anniversary of the 1952 revolution that saw the overthrow of the monarchy as Egyptians enjoyed an extended holiday weekend.

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan reacted with "sorrow and anger", while US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who was in the region, condemned the "senseless" attacks.

The hawkish chairman of the Israeli parliament's foreign affairs and defence committee, Yuval Steinitz, was critical of the Egyptian intelligence services' failure to stop the new bombings nine months after the deadly blasts in the resorts of Taba and Nuweiba further north.

"At first sight, it looks like a failure on the intelligence and security front of the first degree," Steinitz told public radio.

"There was a terrible attack less than a year ago in similar circumstances and all the red lights should have been flashing."

The trial of three men suspected of involvement in last year's bombings opened on July 2 and was due to resume on Sunday. - AFP/de

koniyakutz · July 23, 2005

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp.../159466/1/.html

Al-Qaeda group claims responsibility for Egypt bombings

DUBAI : An Al-Qaeda-linked group on Saturday claimed responsibility for the bombings in Egypt's tourist-packed Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh that killed at least 65 people, including foreign tourists.

The group, calling itself the Al-Qaeda Organisation in the Levant and Egypt, made the claim in a statement posted on an Islamic website.

Its authenticity could not be verified. - AFP/de