Ancient Egyptian Forum

[Lostris]

Did you hear? The news said 83 or more people died and a lots of people have accidents. This happened in the popular tourist-city, Sharm el Sheikh. (which is also called 'The city of peace'). There were 7 bombings in different places like a bazaar and some hotels. A lot of Egyptians died, but there are some tourists among the dead, too. The news said too, that the killer was the Egyptian side of the Al-Kaida. This will go on forever?? I truly frightened. Now, people can't go to Egypt, because it's too dangerous? My God! If any of you knows something more about it, please tell me!
Kisses
Lostris
P.s.: It's frightening! I could be there, too! Fortunately, I'm at home now... pfff.
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[Google]

[Osiris II]

The L.A. Times, in an article I read this morning, puts the death toll at 49, with "over 200" injured.
It seems that the situation--world-side--is just getting more and more scarey!
I was thinking about taking a tour sponsered by the Theban Mapping Project, with Kent Weeks as the tour leader. He was even taking the group on a tour of KV5, which is not open to the public. I decided not to go, just because of the possiblity of things like this happening. The terrorists seem to be getting what they want--making us all scared to go out of the house! The "stiff upper lip" of the British after the subway attacks is so great! They feel they must "get on with their lives" though it all.
Will this horror ever stop?

[mary500]

This is what was in my local paper and on my local news. We have also been watching MSNBC on tv and have heard more. It truly is devastating and heartbreaking. All the terrorist attacks recently makes one want to just stay in their own house!

SHARM EL-SHEIK, Egypt - A rapid series of car bombs and another blast ripped through a luxury hotel and a coffeeshop in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheik early Saturday, killing at least 83, a hospital official said. Terrified European and Arab tourists fled into the night, and rescue workers said the death toll was almost certain to rise.

The attack, Egypt's deadliest terror attacks ever, appeared well coordinated. Two car bombs, possibly suicide attackers, went off simultaneously at 1:15 a.m. some 2.5 miles apart. A third bomb, believed hidden in a sack, detonated around the same time near a beachside walkway where tourists often stroll at night.

Several hours after the attack, a group citing ties to al-Qaida claimed responsibility for the explosion on an Islamic web site.

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The group, the Abdullah Azzam Brigades, al-Qaida, in Syria and Egypt, was one of two extremist groups that also claimed responsibility for October bombings at the Egyptian resorts of Taba and Ras Shitan that killed 34. The group also claimed responsibility for a Cairo bombing in late April.

'Clues' reveal possible link
The authenticity of the statement could not be immediately verified. But a top Egyptian official said there are some indications the latest bombings were linked to last fall's Taba explosions.



• EGYPT: Maps, facts and figures


"We have some clues, especially about the car that was exploded in the Old Market, and investigators are pursuing," said Interior Minister Habib al-Adli. He called it "an ugly act of terrorism."

Neighboring countries, the United States, Israel and others condemned the attacks. Neighboring Jordan said it was immediately tightening security at its tourist sites.

A total of 83 people had been confirmed dead, said Dr. Saeed Abdel Fattah, manager of the Sharm el-Sheik International Hospital where the victims were taken.

At least eight foreigners were among the dead, Al-Adli said. The dead included British, Dutch, Kuwaitis, Saudis and Qataris, a security official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was giving information not yet included in the official statement.

Victims feared still buried
The death toll was likely to rise, rescue workers said. The lobby of the 176-room Ghazala Gardens hotel in Sharm's Naamah Bay, the main strip of hotels, collapsed into a pancaked pile of concrete. Rescue workers feared more victims were still buried under the rubble.

David Stewart, a tourist from from Liverpool, England, was staying with his wife and two teen-aged daughters at the Ghazala Gardens when the explosion hit. The windows of his room were smashed, and he and his family ran.

"Somebody shouted, 'Keep moving,"' he told AP. "The lights were out. I couldn't tell what was happening."

His family, like many others, fled toward the back of the hotel to take refuge in a grassy lawn near the pool. There, hundreds spent the night, some lying on pool mattresses.

On the other side of Sharm in the Old Market, a second car bomb in a minibus parking lot sent a ball of flaming wreckage shooting over a nearby beach and into the sea and littered the sand with body parts. Overturned chairs, broken waterpipes and pools of blood were scattered around the ravaged coffeeshop nearby, frequented by Egyptians who work in the resorts.

"The country's going to come to a stop. That's it!" sobbed Samir al-Mitwalli, who arrived in Sharm only a month ago to work as a driver. "Who's paying the price? ... Whoever did this wants to destroy the economy."

The string of attacks stunned a town that has long been dedicated to scuba diving at the famed coral reefs off its shores and partying on the beaches.

Attacks strike vital tourism industry
Sharm el-Sheik has expanded at a furious pace in recent years, making it a major player in Egypt's vital tourism industry, drawing Europeans, Israelis and Arabs from oil-producing Gulf nations. President Hosni Mubarak has a residence there where he spends the winter, and the town has been the host to multiple summits for the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

The attacks last fall in Taba ended a long halt in militant violence. The last major attack was in 1997, when Islamic militants killed 58 foreign tourists and four Egyptians at the Pharaonic Temple of Hatshepsut outside Luxor in southern Egypt. Saturday's violence was the deadliest since Islamic militant attacks began in Egypt in 1992.

There were signs that the bombings were by suicide attackers. Witnesses in the blast that hit the coffeeshop reported the attack vehicle was moving when it blew up, and the governor of South Sinai, Mustafa Afifi, said the car in the Ghazala attack broke through security into the front driveway of the hotel before exploding.

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Britain's ambassador to Egypt, Sir Derek Plumbly, told BBC radio that eight Britons were among the injured, but no British deaths had been confirmed. A senior U.S. official traveling with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said there were no reports of American casualties.

The attack that so far appeared to have killed the most foreign tourists was a bomb hidden in a sack that went off by the beach-side pedestrian walkway, killing six foreigners and an Egyptian, said a security official in Sharm, speaking on condition of anonymity because the Interior Ministry had not yet released that information.

Devastating damage
The far heavier damage was caused by the two car bombs, which sent flames and palls of smoke over Sharm and shook windows as far as a mile away.

The blast swept through the interior of the sprawling, low-built Ghazala hotel, shattering windows and shredding metal. Blood splattered some of the walls, and tree limbs from its gardens were strewn everywhere.

The blast at Old Market tore through a coffeeshop on the side of the minibus lot, killing at least 17 Egyptians who were sitting there, said a security official in the operations control room in Cairo monitoring the crisis.

More than eight hours later, the overturned shell of a minibus was still smoldering, near a large crater in the asphalt. Witnesses said the minibus was driving nearby when the explosives-laden vehicle swept into the lot, and the minibus driver tried to swerve to avoid the blast. The square's clock was stopped at the time of the explosion.

"This flaming mass flew over my head, faster than a torpedo, and plunged into the water," said Mursi Gaber, who at the time of the blast was putting up decorations on a nearby beach. "There were body parts all over the steps down to the beach."

"This is a security farce," said Omar Ezzideen, owner of a children's clothing store in a nearby mall whose windows were shattered by the blast. "How can something like this happen here? How could (explosives) enter here? The national economy is based on this."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8671549/
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~Mary

[Ramsekh]

This does scare me a bit, but it does not change my mind about visiting Egypt. Nothing will.
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[Lostris]

Well, I see that's a very serious problem there in Egypt and I understand why don't you want to visit Egypt. (It's a pity, that tour with Kent Weeks should be interesting!) It's frightening, and the dayly (not sure this is the correct writing, sorry) magazine here, in Hungary has terrible news for European people, too. I tried to translate it, but you know my English is so poor...

Europe is in danger, too!

Since the terror in New York and London, European people started to fear much more from the Arabic people. For some days, the terror community Al-Kaida threatened all of the continent. They said that they will get square with us if we won't withdraw troops from Iraq before the 15th of August.

The Abu Hafs al-Masri terror community said: 'We start a bloody war against you in Allah's name. You get one month. If you won't do what we want, we will swoop upon you in Europe's heart'.

A lot of countries think about this very seriously. In Bohemia, they demand a special licence for police and secret agency against the terrorists. Italy is thinking about deployment of soldiers and France observes lot of Islamic preachers.

Thank you for your posts, everyone!
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http://belldandy.freeblog.hu --> my blog site

[Danielle]

I was just informed today that two of my sister's second cousins were in that hotel. One of the young girls only has a 15% chance of living. Even though I've never met them, I feel sad for them. I don't understand how people can cause so much pain and suffering on innocent people, it's so wrong and really piontless, it's one of the things that makes me ashamed to be a human being. Humans are the only living creatures on the face of the planet that are dishonest, malicious, evil, and murderous.

I think we should all just love one another.

[Osiris II]

Surprizingly, the recent attack seems not to have been the work of international terrorists, but the beginning of a policy by Egyptian fundimentalists to concentrait their efforts to gain control of the Egyptian government by dis-rupting the tourist industry, the main "bringer of money" for the present government.
Whatever the reason or those involved, such an action is at the bottom of the humanity list!
"I want control of the government!"
"you dis-agree?"
"Bomb a tourist hotel!!!"

[the_tutness_is_here]

[Lostris]

Hello, Tutness, welcome again! (Some days ago, I was thinking about why did you left KTO alone?! )
For the question, I was surprised. Why do they destroy their own things? (places, people, etc.?) Just because, I couln't understand why do they want to kill tourists - but their own people? I can't figure out the answer. Brr.. interesting question... In your state, I would visit Egypt, but it's up to you...
_________________
http://belldandy.freeblog.hu --> my blog site

[Ankhefenamun]

It could actually be borne in mind that visiting Egypt during a bad period would mean that your destinations will be less crowded and more enjoyable... although there is of course the risk of brutal death. Honestly, I think I'd take my chances. We all want to go to Egypt if we can.

[the_tutness_is_here]

[nileqt87]

i went in 1995 when i was 8, and i do want to go again, dearly. my egyptologist teacher even recommended the american school in cairo to me.

the problem with these fundamentalist islamics is they hate western culture, so they don't care if they disrupt tourism. they want us all dead anyway.

personally, i think they should all be buried in pork.

i want to go to egypt again.

[gingerlisa]

All of life is a risk. A bus could get any of us tomorrow. Your time is your time.

LIVE LIFE! Visit Egypt while you can. I visited in January 2004 and have no regrets. About 10 people chickened out of our tour, and they missed out. Also, speaking as a potential target of these terrorists, the only way I can fight them is by getting on planes and travelling, and I intend to do just that, as often as possible. They don't own me, and they don't own Egypt. Or Bali, or Madrid, or London, or New York, or Baghdad... you get the idea.

Egypt is a wonderful place full of great people. Visit them.