2005 Sharm El Sheikh bombings: Difference between revisions

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{{short description|Terrorist attacks in Egypt}}

{{current}}

{{refimprove|date=July 2015}}

[[Image:Eg-map.png|right|225px|thumb|Egypt]]

{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2015}}

On [[July 23]], [[2005]] a '''series of bomb attacks''' hit the [[Egypt|Egyptian]] resort city of [[Sharm el-Sheikh]] on the southern tip of the [[Sinai Peninsula]]. At least 88 people have been killed and over 150 have been wounded by blasts suspected to have been [[car bomb]]s making the attack the deadliest terrorist action in the country's history. The bombing coincided with Egypt's [[Revolution Day]], which commemorates [[Gamal Abdel Nasser|Nasser]]'s [[1952]] overthrow of [[Farouk of Egypt|King Farouk]].

{{Infobox terrorist attack

| title = 2005 Sharm El Sheikh bombings

| partof = [[terrorism in Egypt]]

| image =

| caption = The [[Ghazala Gardens hotel]], one of the targets

| ___location = [[Sharm El Sheikh]], [[Sinai Peninsula|Sinai]], [[Egypt]]

| target = A market and hotels

| date = 23 July 2005

| time-begin = 01:15 am

| time-end = 01:20 am

| timezone = [[Daylight saving time in Egypt|UTC+3]]

| type = [[Suicide attack|Suicide]] [[improvised explosive device|bombings]]

| fatalities = 88

| injuries = ~150

| perps = [[Abdullah Azzam Brigades]]

}}

{{Campaignbox Terrorism in Egypt}}

The '''2005 Sharm El Sheikh bombings''' were committed by [[Islamism|Islamist]] group [[Abdullah Azzam Brigades]] on 23 July 2005 in the [[Egypt]]ian [[resort town|resort city]] of [[Sharm El Sheikh]], at the southern tip of the [[Sinai Peninsula]]. Eighty-eight people were killed by the three bombings, the majority of them [[Egyptians]], and over 200 were injured, making the attack the deadliest [[terrorism in Egypt|terrorist]] action in the [[history of Egypt]], until it was surpassed by the [[2017 Sinai mosque attack]].

The attacks took place in the early morning hours while many tourists and locals were still out at restaurants, cafés, and bars. The first bomb blast, at 01:00 local time (22:00 [[UTC]]), was reported in a market in downtown Sharm with another hitting the [[Ghazala Gardens hotel]], a 176-room four-star establishment in the Naama Bay area, a strip of [[beach|beachfront]] hotels some 6 km from the town centre. The hotel has been "destroyed" according to witnesses. [[Nile TV]], as quoted by [[CNN]], claims that there were three separate blasts. The blasts were quite powerful, shaking [[window]]s miles away. Fire and smoke could be seen rising from the explosion site.

The attack took place on Egypt's [[Revolution Day (Egypt)|Revolution Day]], a [[public holidays in Egypt|public holiday]], and was part of a strategy of damaging [[tourism in Egypt|tourism in the country]], a major part of the [[economy of Egypt|economy]].

==Explosion sites==

[[Image:Ghazala-Gardens.jpg|right|thumb|200px|The [[Ghazala Gardens hotel|Ghazala Gardens Hotel]], one of the targetted locations.]]

News wires have reported at least four blasts "within minutes of each other":

*One near the [[bazaar]] (the "Old Market") in downtown Sharm el Sheikh.

*[[Ghazala Gardens hotel|Ghazala Gardens Hotel]], Naama Bay: a car bomber plunged his vehicle into the front of the hotel

*[[Moevenpick Hotel]], Naama Bay: a car bomb exploded in the parking lot.

*Market/restaurant area in Naama Bay, near the Convention Centre.

After the attacks, many arrests took place, especially of the [[Bedouin]] in the Sinai, who allegedly aided the attack, and Egypt started erecting a [[separation barrier]] around the city, cutting it off from possible attacks and the nearby Bedouin community.<ref>{{cite web |title= |script-title=he:מצרים בונה גדר ביטחון סביב שארם א-שייח |trans-title=Egypt is building a security fence around Sharm el-Sheikh |url=http://news.walla.co.il/?w=/17/795192 |access-date=2014-05-15 |website=Walla! News |publisher=News.walla.co.il |language=he}}</ref>

Other sources referred to "as many as seven" separate blasts. (''[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/07/23/wegypt23.xml&sSheet=/news/2005/07/23/ixnewstop.html Daily Telegraph],'' [http://ca.today.reuters.com/news/NewsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2005-07-23T004845Z_01_N22643259_RTRIDST_0_NEWS-EGYPT-EXPLOSIONS-COL.XML Reuters])

==Background==

{{unsourced section|date=August 2020}}

Foreign tourists have been a common target of attacks in Egypt since the early 1990s. Militants have typically been motivated by a combination of [[Qutbism]] and opposition to the [[Hosni Mubarak|Mubarak]] [[Politics of Egypt|government]], and attacking foreigners including non-[[Islam in Egypt|Muslims]] while hurting Egypt's tourist trade was seen as serving both goals.

The most bloody attack prior to the Sharm El Sheikh attacks was the November 1997 [[Luxor massacre]], in which 58 foreign tourists and four Egyptians were killed. The [[2004 Sinai bombings]] killed 34 people in October in [[Taba, Egypt|Taba]], also on Sinai. In the [[April 2005 Cairo terrorist attacks]] three foreign tourists were killed.

Unlike the October 2004 Taba attacks, the Sharm El Sheikh attack does not appear to have been directed in particular against [[Israelis]], for whom Sharm is a popular destination. However, one [[Arab citizens of Israel|Israeli Arab]] was killed and another was injured.

==Bombings==

{{unsourced section|date=August 2020}}

The attacks took place in the early hours of the morning at the [[Red Sea]] resort, when many tourists and locals were still out at restaurants, cafés and bars. The first bombing took place at 1:15&nbsp;am [[daylight saving time in Egypt|Egypt summer time]] (22:15 [[UTC]]) at the Old Market [[bazaar]] in downtown Sharm, killing 17 people, mostly Egyptians. The bomber had to abandon his [[truck bomb]] in the market because of a police roadblock. The second bomb was a truck bomb that was driven into the lobby of the [[Ghazala Gardens hotel]], a 176-room four-star establishment in the [[Naama Bay]] area, a strip of beachfront hotels some 6&nbsp;km from the town centre. About 45 people died in the blast. The final bomb was hidden in a suitcase and exploded outside the [[Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts|Moevenpick Hotel]], killing six tourists.

The blasts were powerful enough to shake windows miles away. Fire and smoke could be seen rising from the explosion sites.

==Casualties==

{| class="wikitable centre sortable"

News agencies report a preliminary death toll of at least 88.

|+ Deaths by nationality

!Country

!Number

|-

| {{flagu|Egypt}}

! 61

|-

| {{flagu|United Kingdom}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.wired-gov.net/wg/wg-news-1.nsf/54e6de9e0c383719802572b9005141ed/11ed6d97f764afe6802572ab004bd8ad?OpenDocument|title=Memorial Service to commemorate Britons killed in terrorist attacks abroad|work=Wired|date=7 September 2006}}</ref>

! 11

|-

| {{flagu|Italy}}<ref>{{cite web |date=19 August 2017 |title=Terrorismo, 43 gli italiani morti negli attentati dal 2003 |trans-title=Terrorism, 43 Italians killed in attacks since 2003 |url=https://www.rainews.it/archivio-rainews/articoli/Terrorismo-42-gli-italiani-morti-negli-attentati-dal-2003-9cf59041-a6d1-412a-8b9e-49878886d01e.html |work=Rai News |language=Italian}}</ref>

! 6

|-

| {{flagu|Turkey}}

! 4

|-

| {{flagu|Germany}}

! 2

|-

| {{flagu|Czech Republic}}<ref>{{cite web |date=26 July 2005 |title=Doma nesehnal práci, v Egyptě ho zabili |trans-title=He couldn't get a job at home, he was killed in Egypt |url=https://www.idnes.cz/zpravy/domaci/doma-nesehnal-praci-v-egypte-ho-zabili.A050725_215912_domaci_ad |work=iDnes.cz |language=Czech}}</ref>

! 1

|-

| {{flagu|United States}}

! 1

|-

| {{flagu|Kuwait}}

! 1

|-

| {{flagu|Israel}}

! 1

|-

|- class="sortbottom"

|'''Total'''

! 88

|}

[[Image:Sharm el Sheikh map.png|thumb|Sharm El Sheikh is located on the coast of the [[Red Sea]], at the southern tip of the [[Sinai Peninsula]].]]

The majority of dead and wounded casualties are [[Egyptians]]. Also injured or killed were [[Britons]], [[Dutch]], [[French]], an [[Israeli]], [[Italians]], [[Spaniards]], [[Kuwait|Kuwaitis]] and [[Czech]].

The official government toll a few days after the attacks was put at 64, but hospitals reported that 88 people had been killed. The majority of dead and injured were Egyptians. Among those killed were 11 [[British people|Britons]], two [[Germans]], six [[Italians]], four [[Turkish people|Turks]], one [[Czechs|Czech]], one Israeli, and one [[Americans|American]]. Other casualties, dead and injured, included visitors from [[France]], [[Kuwait]], the [[Netherlands]], [[Qatar]], [[Russia]], and [[Spain]].<ref>{{cite web |date=2005-07-23 |title=Death toll from Egypt blasts rises to 59 - TV |url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-07/23/content_3256722.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061128204958/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-07/23/content_3256722.htm |archive-date=28 November 2006 |access-date=2014-05-15 |publisher=News.xinhuanet.com}}</ref> Dr. François Boureau, a [[Physician|medical doctor]] from [[Paris]], who was a pioneering expert in providing relief to [[chronic pain]] patients, also died on 23 July 2005 in the Sharm El Sheik area, presumably in these attacks.{{cn|date=August 2020}}

==Responsibility==

A group calling itself the ''[[Abdullah Azzam Brigades'']] (awas referencethe tofirst to militant Islamistclaim ideologue [[Abdullah Yusuf Azzam]]) has claimed responsibiltyresponsibility for the attacks. On a [[website]] the group stated that ''"holy warriors targeted the Ghazala Gardens hotel and the Old Market in Sharm el-El Sheikh"'' and claimed it has ties to [[Alal-QaidaQaeda]].<ref>{{cite Theweb authenticity|last=Willacy of|first=Mark this|date=25 statementJuly has2005 not|title=Police beenquestion verifieddozens over Egypt bombings |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2005-07-25/police-question-dozens-over-egypt-bombings/2065592 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161028042048/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2005-07-25/police-question-dozens-over-egypt-bombings/2065592 |archive-date=28 October 2016 |access-date=2014-05-15 |website=Abc.net.au |df=dmy-all}}</ref>

The government said that the bombers were Bedouin militants from the same group that carried out the [[2004 Sinai bombings]] in Taba.<ref>{{cite web |last=Williams |first=Daniel |date=2 October 2005 |title=Egypt Gets Tough in Sinai in Wake of Resort Attacks |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/01/AR2005100101293_pf.html |access-date=2014-05-15 |work=Washingtonpost.com}}</ref> Arrested suspects claimed to have been motivated by the [[Iraq War|War in Iraq]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Williams |first=Daniel |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601100&sid=aAkahHyWCDoA&refer=germany |title=Red Sea Resort Attacks Show Threat of 'Decentralized' Terrorism |publisher=Bloomberg |date=8 October 2006 |access-date=2014-05-15}}</ref>

==Background==

Historically, foreign tourists have been a common target of attacks dating back to the early 1990s. Militants have typically been motivated by a combination of Islamic fundamentalism and opposition to the [[Hosni Mubarak|Mubarak]] government, and attacking foreigners including non-Muslims while hurting Egypt's tourist trade was seen as serving both goals.

==See also==

The most bloody attack prior to the Sharm el Sheikh bombings was the November 1997 [[November 1997 Luxor massacre|Luxor massacre]] of 58 foreign tourists and four Egyptians. In [[October 2004]], a series of bomb attacks killed 34 people in [[Taba (Egypt)|Taba]], also on the Sinai Peninsula. In [[April 2005]] [[Cairo]] was hit by [[April 2005 terrorist attacks in Cairo|two days of terrorist violence]], in which three foreign tourists were killed.

*[[2006 Dahab bombings]]

*[[Suleiman Khater]]

==References==

Unlike the October 2004 attacks, this attack does not appear to have been directed in particular against [[Israel]]is, for whom Sharm is a popular destination. However, one [[Israeli Arab]], Saneh Hussein, has been reported as being among the injured.

{{Reflist}}

==External links==

{{wikinewsWikinews|Many dead in Egyptian resort blasts}}

* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4709491.stm ''Toll climbs in Egyptian attacks'']

*[http://today.reuters.com/news/NewsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2005-07-23T104409Z_01_N23649802_RTRIDST_0_NEWS-EGYPT-EXPLOSIONS-DC.XML ''Blasts kill 83 in Egyptian Red Sea resort'']{{dead link|date=January 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} ([[Reuters]])

*[https://web.archive.org/web/20130924125054/http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2005/752/fr4.htm ''Scores die in Sharm El-Sheikh car bombs''] ([[Al-Ahram]])

*Background

**[http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L30601681.htm ''Attacks on tourist targets in Egypt, 1992&ndash;2005''1992–2005] ([[Reuters]])

**[https://web.archive.org/web/20060516052951/http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/E0CA247A-68EE-41A0-8691-DEA80F2E1668.htm ''Egypt's grim catalogue of tourist attacks''] ([[Al Jazeera Media Network|Al Jazeera]])

**[http://www.martinkramer.org/sandbox/2005/07/tentacles-in-sinai/ Tentacles in Sinai] The nexus of smuggling, Islamism, and terrorism.

{{War on Terror}}

[[Category:Terrorist incidents in 2005]]

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[[Category:History of Egypt]]

[[Category:Al-Qaeda]]

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