Egypt Hit By Deadly Bomb Blasts

The attacks on the popular Sinai strip at the peak of the tourist season were the deadliest in Egypt, topping the 58 killed in Luxor eight years ago, and drew swift condemnation from around the world.

Along with Egyptians, the dead or wounded included 13
Italians, five Britons, French, Spaniards, Dutch, Saudis,Qataris, Kuwaitis and other nationalities, police sources said.

German nationals were also among those injured in the string of bomb attacks Chancellor Gerhard Schröder said Saturday. "According to current information, German tourists were among those hurt," Schröder said in a statement, without giving a precise number.

Schröder condemned the attacks, which he said "showed disdain for human life" and which had targeted "innocent people, Egyptians and foreign tourists alike. The horrible attacks of recent weeks demand even more intensive
international cooperation, in order to dismantle terrorist networks that are even more cruel," the German chancellor said.

The al Qaeda Organisation in the Levant and Egypt said it carried out the multiple bombings in an Internet statement buts its authenticity could not be verified.

At least three bomb blasts rocked the town in quick succession shortly after 1:00 am (2200 GMT Friday). In the most devastating of the strikes, a suicide bomber rammed his car into the Ghazala Garden hotel in the glitzy Naama Bay tourist strip.

"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," a hotel employee told AFP.

An AFP reporter said the force of the blast sent debris flying more than 100 meters (yards) from the hotel, which was threatening to collapse. Police said at least 30 were killed at the hotel, most of them Egyptian staff. At least 83 people were killed and 200 injured.

Interior Minister Habib al-Adly, in Sharm el-Sheikh to head up the rescue operation, said anti-terrorist units who had been rushed to the scene already had some leads which appeared to show a connection with October bombings that killed 34 people further north in the Sinai peninsula.

"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."

Bombs follow fresh London terror scare

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.

Panicked tourists poured out of the many night spots dotting the Naama Bay stretch of the resort known to Egyptians as "the city of peace," where President Hosni Mubarak frequently hosts world leaders and Middle East summits.

"They (the bombers) are mad. What's the point of all this. They won't go to heaven. No religion can accept such a thing," said Carol, a young Briton who works as a barmaid in a pub.

Saturday's attacks followed a new terror scare on London's transport system on Friday after a series of bombings on July 7 that killed at least 54 people plus four suicide bombers.

At least one Israeli was among the wounded in Egypt but the foreign ministry said there were no immediate plans to order the evacuation of the 10,000 nationals believed to be vacationing in the Sinai at the peak of the summer holiday season.

Receptionists at several hotels said many guests had warned they would cut their holidays short and small groups of haggard tourists could be seen dragging their luggage among the debris to board buses leaving the resort.

Another bomb went off on a car park a few hundred metres (yards) away from the Ghazala hotel, smashing shop fronts. A third bomb ripped through a busy market area, killing an undetermined number of people, some of them foreigners.

"The blast took place at the edge of the souk. It was huge. There were still lots of people at terraces and shops were still open," said Ashraf, who owns a nearby restaurant popular with Russian tourists. "I can't tell how many people were killed but it was carnage. The panic was immediate and I saw a man die of a heart attack following the blasts."

The attacks came on the 53rd anniversary of the 1952 revolution that saw the overthrow of the monarchy as Egyptians enjoyed an extended holiday weekend.

EU voices horror at attacks

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan reacted with "sorrow and anger,",while US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who was in the region, condemned the "senseless" attacks.

The European Commission on Saturday voiced horror at the "cowardly" suicide car bombings in Egypt's tourist-packed Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.

"On behalf of the European Commission, I express my horror and outrage at the latest terrorist attacks," said commission head Jose Manuel Barroso. "I express our heartfelt sympathy and total solidarity with the victims of these cowardly acts and their families, and with President Mubarak and the Egyptian people."

Barroso reiterated that the commission, the European Union's executive arm, "unreservedly condemns terrorist violence, which destroys innocent lives and cannot be justified in any circumstances."

"At this difficult time, the Commission stands ready to provide any assistance it can to the Egyptian authorities," he said.