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On July 23, 2005 a series of bomb attacks hit the 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 bombs, making the attack the deadliest terrorist action in the country's history. The bombing coincided with Egypt's Revolution Day, which commemorates Nasser's 1952 overthrow of King Farouk.
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 beachfront hotels some 6 km from the town centre. The hotel has been "destroyed", according to witnesses. Nile TV, according to CNN, claims that there were three separate blasts. The blasts were quite powerful, shaking windows miles away; fire and smoke could be seen rising from the explosion site.
Explosion sites
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, 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.
Other sources referred to "as many as seven" separate blasts. (Daily Telegraph, Reuters)
Casualties
News agencies report a preliminary death toll of at least 88.
The majority of dead and wounded casualties are Egyptians. Also injured or killed were Britons, Dutch, French, an Israeli, Italians, Spaniards, Kuwaitis and Czech.
Responsibility
A group calling itself the Abdullah Azzam Brigades (a reference to militant Islamist ideologue Abdullah Yusuf Azzam) has claimed responsibilty for the attacks. On a website the group stated that "holy warriors targeted the Ghazala Gardens hotel and the Old Market in Sharm el-Sheikh" and claimed it has ties to Al-Qaida. The authenticity of this statement has not been verified.
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 Mubarak government, and attacking foreigners including non-Muslims while hurting Egypt's tourist trade was seen as serving both goals.
The most bloody attack prior to the Sharm el Sheikh bombings was the November 1997 Luxor massacre of 58 foreign tourists and four Egyptians. In October 2004, a series of bomb attacks killed 34 people in Taba, also on the Sinai Peninsula. In April 2005 Cairo was hit by two days of terrorist violence, in which three foreign tourists were killed.
Unlike the October 2004 attacks, this attack does not appear to have been directed in particular against Israelis, for whom Sharm is a popular destination. However, one Israeli Arab, Saneh Hussein, has been reported as being among the injured.
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