CAIRO – At least three people, including two Westerners, have been
killed in the first major Islamic insurgency attack in the Egyptian capital
since 1997.
A French national and a American were identified as among those killed
and more than 20 others were injured in a suicide bombing in Cairo's Old
City on Thursday. Authorities said a man blew himself up near a group of
foreigners in an outdoor bazaar.
"At 5:45 pm on Thursday, there was an explosion in front of a building
in the Gawhar Al Qaed street around 200 meters away from the jewellers
district in Al Azhar," an Egyptian government statement said.
Many of the injured were Western nationals, officials said. They were
identified as two Americans, two Turks, two Italians, two French citizens
and one Briton, Middle East Newsline reported.
Officials said the attack marked the first suicide bombing in Egypt in
many years. Earlier, authorities said an insurgent hurled a bomb toward
Westerners. There was no claim of responsibility for the attack.
"It resulted from the explosion of a charge prepared in a basic way
containing gunpowder and nails," Egyptian Cabinet spokesman Magdi Radi said.
"It is probable that the one who has yet to be identified was the source of
the explosion."
Anti-Western tensions have increased over the last few months in Cairo.
In late March, an Egyptian man stabbed and injured a Hungarian national and
his wife in Khan Al Khalili.
The U.S. embassy in Cairo has warned Americans to stay away from Khan Al
Khalili, located near the Al Azhar mosque and seminary, the scene of
recent anti-regime demonstrations. Over the last year, the embassy has urged
Americans in Egypt to exercise greater caution.
"U.S. citizens are advised to stay away from the Khan area, which has
been cordoned off by local authorities, until further notice," the embassy
said on Thursday. "While there is no independent information to suggest that
this alleged attack was a part of a larger effort, all residents of and
visitors to Egypt should be especially vigilant and avoid areas of Cairo
where large numbers of tourists congregate."
On April 6, Egypt's Supreme Military Court released a prominent Islamic
cleric accused of helping raise funds for Palestinian and Chechen insurgency
groups. Sheik Fawzi Al Said, was also charged with plotting the
assassination of leading Egyptian officials. The court was said to have
released Al Said for lack of evidence.
The last insurgency attack against Westerners in Cairo took place in
November 1997 when 10 people, most of them Germans, were killed in a
shooting attack. In that same year, 58 foreigners were killed in a strike by
the Gamiat Islamiya in Luxor.
In October 2004, an Al Qaida-aligned group detonated several bombs
against Israeli tourists in the Sinai Peninsula. Thirty-four people were
killed in the attacks.
