Special to WorldTribune.com

CAIRO — For the first time, the Bedouin insurgency in Egypt has
targeted Americans.

Security sources said Bedouin gunmen believed linked to Al Qaida have
abducted two Americans in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula. The sources said the
abduction took place on early May 31 along the southern coastal highway from
Dahab to Nuweiba. Within a day, the two were said to have been freed.

“It’s doubtful that the Bedouins wanted to specifically kidnap
Americans, but once they realized who their victims were, this became very appealing,” a security source said.

This marked the first time Bedouin insurgents abducted Americans since the campaign against the Cairo regime began in February 2011. The insurgents, many of them linked to either Al Qaida or Palestinian militias in the Gaza Strip, have attacked Egyptian security forces, hotels and ports.

The captives were identified as Jonathan Shizarlasky and Carter Brabon, said to be in their early 30s and vacationing in Sinai. In 2012, Bedouins, said to be heavily involved in arms, drugs and human trafficking, have been abducting tourists, including Europeans, in the mountains of central Sinai.

But the sources said this marked the first time that Bedouins kidnapped
Westerners along the the southern coast — near Dahab’s Hilton Hotel. The
southern coast had been regarded as the quietest region in the turbulent
peninsula.

In all previous abductions, the tourists were released within hours in
exchange for promises by Egyptian authorities to release insurgents and
smugglers. Hours later, the Americans were also released by the Bedouins
after negotiations with the Egyptian Army and intervention of tribal
leaders.

Sinai has been deemed a leading base for missiles and rockets,
particularly from Libya. The Multinational Force and Observers, which
monitors the Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty, has reported test firings of
advanced Iranian-origin missiles in Sinai over the last few months.

  Bedouin gunmen linked to Al Qaida, Bedouins release first Americans to be abducted in Sinai, coastal highway from Dahab to Nuweiba, Multinational Force and Observers