Dozens killed in Egyptian blasts

[-Cp]

Dozens Dead in Egyptian Resort Blasts

CAIRO, Egypt — As many as seven explosions struck the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheik (search) on the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula early Saturday, targeting several hotels and killing at least 36 people, witnesses and police said.

Saturday's explosions at 1:15 a.m., when many tourists would have been asleep, shook windows a mile away. Smoke and fire rose from Naama Bay (search), a main strip of beach hotels in the desert city popular with Israeli and European tourists, witnesses said.

Security officials said at least 36 were killed and 150 wounded in multiple explosions targeting the Ghazala Gardens (search) and Movenpick hotels in Naama Bay and the Old Market area nearby. Other officials in Sharm said there may have been as many as seven blasts: three in Naama Bay and four in the market.

Amal Mustafa, 28, an Egyptian who was visiting with her family, said she drove by the Ghazala Garden — a 176-room four-star resort on the main tourist strip in Naama — and it was "completely burned down, destroyed."

Khaled Sakran, a resident, said he saw one explosion from the Old Market. "I saw the saw the fire in the sky," he told The Associated Press. "Right after, I saw a light in the sky and heard another explosion, coming from Naama Bay."

"The blast shook my house, I can see the fire and lots of smoke," Akram al-Sherif, a Jordanian who was staying at a summer house less than a mile away, said.

In October 2004, a series of explosions hit several hotels in the Sinai resorts of Taba and Ras Shitan, about 100 miles northwest along the Gulf of Aqaba coast, killing 34 people. Egyptian authorities said that attack was linked to Israeli-Palestinian violence and launched a large wave of arrests in Sinai.

Thousands of tourists are drawn to Sharm for its sun, clear blue water, and coral reefs. It also has been a meeting place where world leaders have tried to hammer out a Mideast peace agreement. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon (search) and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas met there in February and agreed to a cease-fire.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,163412,00.html

 

[Annie]

Going to watch the news. Thanks Cp, I'll be real surprised if the Israeli government had anything to do with this, but can't rule out Jewish fundamentalists or Pali's either.

 

[Annie]

Over 45 dead, over 100 hurt. One hotel destroyed. 7 explosions, 4 were suicide bombs in cars.

Sounds AQ like, but why would they target Egypt and the locals over the resort dwellers? Opportunity?

 

[Annie]

Links at site. If this is AQ, think they've made a big blunder:

http://gatewaypundit.blogspot.com/2005/07/huge-terror-blasts-in-egypt.html

Friday, July 22, 2005
Huge Terror Blasts in Egypt

EYEWITNESS DESCRIBES THE VIOLENT SCENE, VIDEO HERE

* Death Count Rises to 43 in Sinai Explosions *

At least four car bombs were used in the attack, according to a security official in the operations control room in Cairo who was monitoring the crisis.

One went off in the driveway of the Ghazala Garden hotel, a four-star resort on the main strip of hotels in Naama Bay, the official said.

Another exploded in the Old Market, an area a few kilometers away, killing 17 people - believed to be Egyptians - sitting at a nearby outdoor coffee shop. Three minibuses were set ablaze, though it was not clear if they were carrying passengers.

Amal Mustafa, 28, an Egyptian who was visiting Sharm with her family, said she drove by the Ghazala Gardens - a four-star resort on the main tourist strip in Naama - and it was "completely burned down, destroyed."

Casualties include Britons, Dutch, Qataris, Kuwaitis and Egyptians, a police source said.

The explosions that shook the resort apparently occured around Naama Bay, a resident said.


Sharm el Sheik Area in Egypt.

At least seven explosions kill a reported 36 individuals in the Sharm el-Sheik resort in Egypt around 1 AM Egypt time:

As many as seven explosions, including at least four car bombs, struck the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheik early Saturday, hitting several hotels packed with foreign and Egyptian tourists and killing at least 36 people, witnesses and police said.

Saturday's explosions at 1:15 a.m. shook windows more than five miles away. Smoke and fire rose from Naama Bay, a main strip of beach hotels in the desert city popular with Israeli and European tourists, witnesses said.

At least four car bombs were used in the attacks, said a security official in the operations control room in Cairo monitoring the crisis. One went off in the driveway of the Ghazala Garden hotel, a 176-room four-star resort on the main strip of hotels in Naama Bay, the official said.

posted by Gateway Pundit at 7/22/2005 08:38:00 PM

 

[Annie]

Over 45 dead, over 100 hurt. One hotel destroyed. 7 explosions, 4 were suicide bombs in cars.

Sounds AQ like, but why would they target Egypt and the locals over the resort dwellers? Opportunity?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/2005072...oVVhFGROrgF;_ylu=X3oDMTA3MXN1bHE0BHNlYwN0bWE-

75 killed in Egypt Red Sea resort bombings

4 minutes ago

Al-Qaeda linked suicide car bombers unleashed a trail of carnage in Egypt's tourist-packed Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, killing at least 75 people, including foreign tourists.

The attacks on the popular Sinai town at the peak of the tourist season were the deadliest in Egypt, topping the 62 people, most of them tourists, killed in Luxor eight years ago, and drew swift condemnation from across the globe.

At least three bomb blasts ripped through a luxury hotel, a nearby car park and a busy market minutes apart shortly after 1:00 am (2200 GMT Friday), sending panicked holidaymakers rushing out of bars and clubs on the glitzy Naama Bay strip.

In the most devastating of the strikes, a suicide bomber rammed his car through the security barrier and into the lobby of the luxury Ghazala Garden hotel, sending chunks of debris flying and killing at least 30, mostly Egyptian staff.

"The explosion was so strong that it shook the building I was in at the other end of the road, almost a kilometre (half a mile) away from the Ghazala," said taxi driver Naguy Teema.

Medics said 75 people had been killed and about 110 wounded, with officials saying at least eight foreigners were among the dead and another 20 wounded.

President Hosni Mubarak, who has played host to numerous world leaders in the Red Sea riveria resort, toured the devastated bomb sites where anti-terrorist units were also scouring for evidence.

Interior Minister Habib al-Adly said Egypt already had some leads which appeared to show a connection with October bombings that killed 34 people further north in the Sinai peninsula, including several Israelis.

"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.

The Al-Qaeda Organisation in the Levant and Egypt said it carried out the multiple bombings as a "response against the global evil powers which are spilling the blood of Muslims in Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine, Chechnya..."[/quote]

 

[HorhayAtAMD]

Going to watch the news. Thanks Cp, I'll be real surprised if the Israeli government had anything to do with this, but can't rule out Jewish fundamentalists or Pali's either.

The sad thing is that even if this is AQ (and it appears from your last post that it is), I bet the local muslim Egyptians will be convinced that this was the work of Jews. We still, to this day, hear about people who are convinced the Jews did 9/11.

 

[Gabriella84]

I can't see where it would be AQ, since Egypt is a heavily Muslim state that does not support the Western invasion of Iraq.
It is likely going to come back to Israeli militants. Sharon needs to rein them in.

 

[HorhayAtAMD]

I can't see where it would be AQ, since Egypt is a heavily Muslim state that does not support the Western invasion of Iraq.
It is likely going to come back to Israeli militants. Sharon needs to rein them in.

You mean like how muslim police recruits and politicians in Iraq have been safe from AQ? Anyway, these bombings are clearly aimed at tourists. If a few muslims die as collateral damage, well, that isn't anything that the muslim community needs to get upset about. Interesting to me how the loss of muslim lives causes less of an outrage than a story of one koran being desecrated.

 

[HorhayAtAMD]

It is likely going to come back to Israeli militants. Sharon needs to rein them in.

First off, come back once the Israeli militants start kidnapping people and sawing their heads off. The few that have been violent towards anybody (Jew or muslim) have been arrested. They are upset, they are demonstrating, the peaceful ones are being blocked and the violent ones are being arrested. How exactly do you see Sharon needing to do more to rein them in?

 

[Annie]

I can't see where it would be AQ, since Egypt is a heavily Muslim state that does not support the Western invasion of Iraq.
It is likely going to come back to Israeli militants. Sharon needs to rein them in.

Still having reading problems?


...The Al-Qaeda Organisation in the Levant and Egypt said it carried out the multiple bombings as a "response against the global evil powers which are spilling the blood of Muslims in Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine, Chechnya..."

 

[Annie]

Links at site:

http://instapundit.com/archives/024418.php

July 23, 2005

EGYPTIAN BLOGGER BIG PHARAOH has more on the terrorist bombings in Sharm-el-Sheikh.

Meanwhile, Robert Mayer emails:

Just an observation. Most bombings, even going back to 9/11, seem targeted directly at tourism. Especially in the Middle East, though. Tourism is one of the easiest industries for a country to develop, and development leads to outside influence, liberalization, and reform. It looks like the terrorists are heading off capitalism right where it's taking off.​

Yes. It's part of their overall plan to keep their own people poor and ignorant.

UPDATE: Sean Fitzpatrick auditions for a job with the BBC:

I didn't know Egypt had troops in Iraq. Otherwise, why would the terrorists target them?​

Heh. Why, indeed?

ANOTHER UPDATE: John Pilger's sentiments are predictable.

MORE: Here's an analysis by Dan Darling that's worth reading.

And Austin Bay asks: "When will George Galloway and Teddy Kennedy admit Al Qaeda is at war with Arabs and Muslims as well as 'the West?'"​

STILL MORE: Don't miss Noah Shachtman's bomb-blogging from Iraq: "[T]he networks aren’t very good at conveying the subtle shades of danger in a place like this. Either they lead, big, with a new act of carnage – or they bury the news from here at the end of the broadcast. That leaves the impression that all of Iraq is in flames, all of the time. Which is just plain wrong."
posted at 08:17 AM by Glenn Reynolds