Bombers Sow Terror at Red Sea Resort

HASSEN ZENATI / Mail & Guardian (S Africa) 23jul2005

Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt — "They are mad. What's the point of all this," cried a young British barmaid after a succession of massive bomb blasts transformed Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh from a holiday-makers' paradise into an inferno of blood and destruction.

"They won't go to heaven. No religion can accept such a thing," said Carol, who works in a bar on the glitzy Naama Bay strip near a luxury hotel that was bombed early on Saturday.

The explosions shattered the night in Egypt's most popular resort where thousands of tourists from Europe, the Russian Federation and Gulf Arab countries, as well Egyptians marking a national holiday, were vacationing.

According to medical sources, at least 75 people were killed, including foreign tourists, and more than 110 wounded when at least three explosions went off within minutes of each other shortly after 1am (10pm GMT).

The deadliest attack was carried out by a suicide bomber who rammed his explosives-laden car through the security barrier of the Ghazala Garden hotel and into the reception lobby.

At least 30 people were killed in this blast alone and medics feared more will be found dead in the rubble of the badly damaged structure.

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

As the sun rose to reveal scenes of destruction across the popular strip of hotels, restaurants and clubs known as Peace Road, an Italian tourist was desperately trying to find his missing son.

"My wife and I were strolling near the shops, not far from the hotel, and our 17-year-old son stayed behind, in his room," said Giuseppe Pasquale.

"When the explosions went off, we rushed back to the Ghazala but he was not in his room. I don't know what to do. They wouldn't let me in to the hospital," the distressed father told French news agency Agence France Presse.

The attacks occurred at the height of the tourist season and proved to be even deadlier than the 1997 attack in the Nile town of Luxor that killed 62 people including 58 foreigners.

Panicked tourists poured out of the many night spots dotting the Naama Bay strip and small groups of haggard foreigners were seen dragging their luggage among the debris to board buses leaving the resort on Egypt's "Riviera".

"Lots of people have already warned us they were leaving in the morning," said one hotel receptionist.

Issam Ibrahim runs the Layali al-Helmiya cafe near the old market area of Sharm that was also hit.

"It was hell, the explosion sent balls of fire flying around. There were two children playing football, they were torn to shreds," he said, adding that there were few tourists in this area at the time of the explosion.

Doctors were being dispatched from Cairo to assist the medical staff at the local hospital. Residents and tourists were also invited to donate blood as emergency services were overwhelmed by the number of casualties.

The attacks were likely to deal a fatal blow to the tourism industry so crucial to Egypt's economy as it was recovering from the aftermath of deadly October bombings in resorts further north on the coast of the Sinai Peninsula. - Sapa-AFP

source: http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=246205&area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__africa/ 23jul2005

Car Bombs Kill 75 at Egyptian Resort

Mail & Guardian (S Africa) 23jul2005

Sharm el-Sheik, Egypt — A succession of car bombs rocked the resort of Sharm el-Sheik early this morning, killing at least 75 people and injuring more than 120, many of them critically, in the latest terrorist episode to strike at the heart of the Egyptian tourism industry.

The blasts ripped the front off at least one hotel and sowed panic among people heading home after a night out in restaurants and clubs of the Red Sea resort in the Sinai peninsula.

On Saturday, medics and officials said at least 75 people had died. Police said at least four, perhaps seven, car bombs were detonated soon after 1am local time, one tearing through the bazaar and three shaking seafront hotels at the Naama Bay. Smoke and fire could be seen rising up from the district.

"Many of the injuries are very serious and the injured are in critical condition," said one doctor at Sharm el-Sheikh international hospital, who asked not to be named.

One witness, Amal Mustafa, said that a four-star hotel on the main tourist strip in Naama had been "completely burned down, destroyed".

Another said houses more than a kilometre away were shaken by the blasts and some windows were blown out.

Fabio Basone, a tourist in Sharm el-Sheik, told the BBC that the front of one hotel had been "completely blown away".

He described scenes of chaos as screaming holidaymakers poured out of clubs and bars in panic after the volley of explosions.

Other holidaymakers said that the resort was packed with tourists from Europe, Israel, Jordan and Egypt.

"I have never been so scared in the whole of my life," one British tourist, Samantha Hardcastle, told BBC television from Naama Bay, which has dozens of luxury hotels.

"The explosion we felt was very violent and the hotel we are staying in shook. We saw lots of smoke and there were sirens. It was absolutely horrific."

Sharm el-Sheik is a popular destination for both Egyptians and foreign visitors.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair spent New Year there last year, while Egypt's president, Hosni Mubarak, has a residence in the resort; it was not known if he was there on Friday night.

The blasts coincided with Egypt's National Day, the commemoration of the 53rd anniversary of the 1952 revolution which overthrew the monarchy.

It also comes against a backdrop of growing political tension in Egypt, where increasingly bold campaigners for reform are urging a boycott of upcoming presidential elections because of disenchantment with new electoral rules promoted by Mr Mubarak.

The attacks bore echoes of a car bomb attack on Egyptian Red Sea resorts last October that killed more than 30 holidaymakers, most of them Israelis. On that occasion, car bombs hit the resort of Taba and Ras Shitan, 160km to the north-west of Sharm.

Egyptian authorities blamed that attack on the Israeli-Palestinian violence and arrested dozens of people in Sinai.

It was the first attack on tourists since the 1997 attack by gunmen near Luxor which killed 58 people.

Tourists were again targeted in April when a man threw a bomb at a tour group in Cairo's old city, killing one person in the first deadly attack on tourists in the capital for seven years.

'Sorrow and anger' United Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice led international condemnation of the bombings.

"I condemn the horrific terrorist bombings in Sharm el-Sheikh, our thoughts and prayers are with the families and innocent victims from many nations who suffered in this senseless attack," Rice said ahead of a visit to the West Bank to meet Palestinian leaders.

"At this difficult time of testing, the United States stands with our friend and ally Egypt. Together we will confront and defeat this scourge that knows no boundary and respects no creed," Rice added.

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan expressed his "sorrow and anger" at the bombings, which were claimed by an al-Qaeda linked group.

"The secretary general has reacted with sorrow and anger to the news of the multiple car bombs in the Sinai peninsula, which have cruelly struck the brave Egyptian nation on its National Day," a UN spokesperson said in a statement.

"Once again, in this tragic month, he condemns the use of terror and indiscriminate violence against civilians, which no cause or belief can possibly justify," the spokesperson said.

Israel offered to send army rescue teams to the Red Sea resort on the tip of the Sinai peninsula to help emergency crews deal with the carnage.

"We forcefully condemn these inhuman acts of terrorism and the army is ready to help our Egyptian neighbours if they need it," said Israeli government spokesperson Avi Pazner.

Yuval Steinitz, the chairperson of Parliament's foreign affairs and defence committee, said that the attacks in Sharm el-Sheikh appeared to represent a major intelligence failure especially so soon after the 2004 attacks in another Sinai resort, Taba, which killed 34 people including Israelis.

"At first sight, it looks like a failure on the intelligence and security front of the first degree," he 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."

Iran said it firmly condemned the bombings but called on the United States to change tack in its war on terror.

"We appeal to Western countries not to impose restrictions on Muslims as these attacks have nothing to do with Muslims and placing restrictions on Muslims is the best way of helping the terrorists," foreign ministry spokesperson Hamid Reza Asefi told reporters.

He said the wave of bombings against Western targets showed the folly of Washington's approach to Islamic militancy.

"The approach of the United States in the war on terror has made the world a less safe place. Every day we are seeing attacks around the world ... it's because of the the incorrect and childish approach of the United States.

"The United States must change its policy in the war against terror, give up its double standards and extend its hand to the international community, as the sole means of combating terrorism is through international cooperation."

Russia and Japan also condemned the bombings.

"We strongly condemn this criminal act and hope that the terrorists will be found and severely punished," the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement posted on its internet site.

In Toyko a foreign ministry official said the government was "gravely shocked" by the attacks.

"Terrorism cannot be justified for any reason, and the government of Japan firmly condemns atrocious terrorism that victimises many innocent people," he said. - Sapa-AFP, Guardian Unlimited

source: http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=246196&area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__africa/ 23jul2005

'Bloody war' for Europe

MAGGIE MICHAEL / Mail & Guardian (S Africa) 20jul2005

Cairo, Egypt — A statement in the name of a group that claimed responsibility for the London bombings threatened to launch "a bloody war" on the capitals of European countries that do not remove their troops from Iraq within a month.

"This is the last message we send to the European countries. We are giving you one month for your soldiers to leave the Land of the Two Rivers. Then there will be no other messages, but actions, and the words will be engraved in the heart of Europe," Abu Hafs al Masri Brigades said on Tuesday in a statement.

The "two rivers" in the statement refer to Iraq's Euphrates and Tigris rivers.

The authenticity of the statement -- which surfaced on an Islamic website known as a clearing house for extremist groups' material -- could not be verified.

A United States official said there is some mystery that surrounds the group, which has no proven track record of attacks.

Experts are skeptical of its statements. The organisation has claimed responsibility for events in which it clearly did not play any role, such as the 2003 blackouts in the United States and London that resulted from technical problems.

But, the US official said, there is a school of thought that the name may apply to an umbrella organisation for a loose group of terrorists that take actions in the name of al-Masri -- one alias of Mohammed Atef, Osama bin Laden's top deputy who was killed in a US airstrike in Afghanistan in November 2001.

While loosely defined, the group is thought to have a presence in Europe, said the official who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the information's sensitive nature.

It is not the first time this group has threatened European nations. In recent months it said its operatives would strike in Europe if European nations did not withdraw their troops from Afghanistan and Iraq.

"It is time for you to understand that the Mujahedeen [holy warriors] will not leave their nation suffering under the stigma of humiliation and the killings by American fire which you allied with," the statement said.

It vowed to launch "a bloody war, God willing", against Denmark, Holland, Britain, Italy and other countries "whose soldiers are roving and having fun in Iraq".

The group was one of at least two to claim responsibility for the July 7 bombings that killed 56 people on London's underground and a double-decker bus.

"We promise you that these will be the last words", the statement said. "After that, our Mujahedeen will say something else in your capitals."

'Everything possible' done to protect Britain British Prime Minister Tony Blair said on Wednesday that he was satisfied Britain's security services did "everything that is possible" to protect the country before the London bombings.

The comments, during the prime minister's weekly question and answer session in Parliament, came after a report said Britain lowered its threat assessment level as a result of a confidential intelligence report.

The intelligence findings had concluded there was no group with the intent or capability to attack the country three weeks before the attacks.

"I am satisfied that they do everything that is possible in order to protect our country," Blair said.

Govt plans to 'monitor' Muslims Meanwhile, the British government plans to set up special intelligence units across the country to monitor Muslims and allow authorities build a "community by community" picture of where extremism is developing, The Guardian newspaper reported on Wednesday.

Special squads, to be known as Muslim Contact Units, will be staffed by intelligence officers and established in areas with a high Muslim population including Yorkshire, north-west England and parts of the Midlands, the report said.

After the London bombings, police have admitted their intelligence of what goes on in Muslim communities is "low" and urgently needs to be boosted, said the newspaper.

The police and British Home Office say that a Muslim Contact Unit already operating in London had helped thwart extremist attempts to recruit young British Muslims, by working with Islamic communities.

The establishment of the special units nationwide was one of the first concrete, counter-terrorist measure to emerge after the London bombings.

The units will have people with language skills and seek detailed knowledge of the "dynamic of Islamic communities in their areas", said The Guardian.

Their role would be to help protect Muslim communities from Islamophobic abuse and attacks, while also gathering information on extremist activity.

The government announced plans to set up a joint taskforce to map out measures to tackle extremism and its roots after talks with Muslim community leaders on Tuesday. - Sapa-DPA, Sapa-AFP

source: http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=245898&area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__international_news/ 23jul2005