Dozens killed in Egyptian blasts
At least 75 people have been killed and scores more wounded in bomb attacks in the Egyptian resort of Sharm al-Sheikh. An explosion in the Old Market area was followed by two blasts in the Naama Bay area, where a car bomb tore off the front of the Ghazala Gardens Hotel. Most of the dead are Egyptians, although foreign nationals are among the victims, officials said. The attack - the worst in Egypt in recent history - comes months after 34 people died in an attack in Sinai. In a statement posted on an Islamic website, a group calling itself the Abdullah Azzam Brigades, al-Qaeda, in Syria and Egypt, said it carried out the bombings, the Associated Press news agency reported, although the claim has not been verified. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has cut short his vacation to visit the scene of the attacks, which happened on a national holiday marking the 1952 Egyptian Revolution. Egyptian Interior Minister Habib al-Adli condemned what he called an "ugly act of terrorism" and said police were following leads. "We have some clues, especially about the car that was exploded in the Old Market, and investigators are pursuing," AP quoted him as saying. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, on a visit to neighbouring Israel, denounced "the horrific terrorist bombings". She vowed that Egypt and the US "will confront and defeat this scourge that knows no boundary and respects no creed". 'Rammed hotel' The blasts came within minutes of each other, shortly after 0100 local time (2200 GMT), when the bars and markets were busy with tourists. This flaming mass flew over my head, faster than a torpedo Mursi Gaber Eyewitness In the most devastating attack, a bomber rammed his car into Ghazala Gardens Hotel, according to an eyewitness. "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," an unnamed hotel employee told AFP news agency. Parts of the front walls of the hotel collapsed, trapping people under the rubble. A few hundred metres away, a bomb went off in a car park near the Moevenpick Hotel and popular nightlife spots, causing widespread damage and casualties. In the Old Market area blast, about four kilometres (2.5 miles) away, 17 people - believed to be Egyptian workers - were killed as they gathered at a street cafe, rescue officials said. We heard a huge bang and saw a gust of black smoke over Old Sharm Lisa Keany "This flaming mass flew over my head, faster than a torpedo and plunged into the water," Mursi Gaber, who was working on a nearby beach when the blast happened, told AP news agency. "There were body parts all over the steps down to the beach." Sabina Salvatore, an Italian diving instructor, was on a boat at the time of the blasts. "Suddenly we looked at Old Sharm and we saw this fire coming up and after this fire some sounds... an explosion and then more fire and everything was shaking," she told the BBC News website. "After this bomb, silence, then a lot of people screaming." 'Mass hysteria' Witnesses said there was pandemonium as dazed and shocked tourists fled to safety. "We went outside on to the street where we were met with hundreds of people running and screaming in all directions," British tourist, Fabio Basone, told the BBC. British policeman Charlie Ives was in a cafe about 50 metres (160ft) away from where two explosions went off. "The whole area was quickly covered in debris. There was a huge ball of smoke that mushroomed up. It was mass hysteria," he told the BBC. The bombings happened at the height of the summer tourist season in Sharm al-Sheikh. Last October, 34 people died in car and truck bomb attacks at Red Sea resorts on the eastern coast of the Sinai Peninsula. The previous worst attack in Egypt occurred in 1997, when Islamic militants killed 58 foreign tourists and four Egyptians near the southern city of Luxor. Tourism is Egypt's most lucrative industry, worth about $6.6bn a year. Are you in the Sharm el-Sheikh area? Did you witness the explosions? Email your accounts. Story from BBC NEWS: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/middle_east/4709491.stm Published: 2005/07/23 10:27:45 GMT © BBC MMV Post message: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe : [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe : [EMAIL PROTECTED] List owner : [EMAIL PROTECTED] Homepage : http://proletar.8m.com/ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
