Special to WorldTribune.com

CAIRO — Bedouin insurgents linked to Al Qaida have been targeting
the tourist industry in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula.

Bedouin gunmen have been attacking resorts in the southern Sinai as part
of the community’s growing revolt against the central government in Cairo.
On Jan. 22, Bedouins stormed the Aqua Sun resort some 30 kilometers south of
Taba, located along the Egyptian border with Israel.

“The Bedouins claim this is their land stolen from them by elements
aligned with the former regime [of President Hosni Mubarak],” an Egyptian
security source said.

The Bedouins have demanded more than $660 million for their withdrawal
from the Aqua Sun, owned by Egyptian industralists from Cairo. The gunmen
have taken about 10 guards hostage. The facility did not contain tourists.

The source said the Bedouins issued a deadline for the ransom and
threatened to destroy the resort. The gunmen have claimed ownership of the
land despite a transaction that took place more than two decades ago.

The attack came in wake of rising Bedouin unrest in the Sinai in 2011.
Bedouin gunmen linked to Al Qaida have attacked ports, government buildings,
police stations and the Arab Gas Pipeline in wake of Mubarak’s ouster in
February 2011.

“Authorities are hoping they [Bedouins] will leave quietly, but are
preparing to use force,” the source said.

  Al Qaida, Aqua Sun resort, Arab Gas Pipeline, Bedouins storm Sinai resort, demand $660 million from Cairo, Red Sea, Sinai Peninsula, Taba