Tourists, Egyptians rally to protest attacks
CTV.ca News Staff
About 1,000 foreign tourists and local Egyptians marched Sunday to protest attacks that turned a peaceful paradise into terror hell.
They chanted anti-terror slogans in English, Arabic, German and Italian on the streets of the shattered Red Sea resort town of Sharm el-Sheik.
Signs in English read "we are against terrorism."
Six thousand tourists did fly out in the first 24 hours after the bombings struck early Saturday morning, killing 88.
But many others stayed, insisting they would stick to their holidays -- much to the relief of shopkeepers.
"The purpose of terrorism is they think we will run (but) the answer is no," said Franz Weinlich, a German doctor. "I don't like to dance to the music of terrorism."
Officials also adopted an "out of sight, out of mind" policy, putting shrouds up at the three bombing sites to obscure some of the grim work being done there.
While some worked on finding and identifying victims, Egyptian police hunted for three suspected bombers who are believed to have escaped the attacks.
Security officials said a fourth attacker apparently blew himself up in the bombing of the hotel.
Security forces have detained 70 people following the bomb blasts that killed at least 88 people. The roundups came after Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak vowed to hunt down the terrorists.
But none of the people detained have yet been accused of involvement in Egypt's deadliest-ever terror attack, officials said.
The police investigation appeared to be similar to the one that followed last October's attacks at the Sinai resorts of Tabas and Ras Shitan, when 3,000 people were detained.
Some 200 of those people are believed to still be in custody.
Egypt's interior minister has said investigators are probing whether there are links with the 2004 blasts in Sinai.
Local investigators are examining the possibility that foreigners carried out the latest attacks that killed dozens and injured at least 119.
Most of those killed were Egyptians, but there were at least seven Westerners among the dead. Officials say the attacks didn't kill or injure any Canadians.
The three near-simultaneous blasts came within minutes of each other, targeting crowded areas, shortly after 1 a.m. local time.
The bombings, believed to be Egypt's deadliest terror attack ever, renewed fears of a campaign by militants to cripple the economy by targeting tourists.
"This cowardly, criminal act is aimed at undermining Egypt's security and stability and harming its people and its guests," Mubarak said Saturday. "This will only increase our determination in chasing terrorism."
On Saturday, there were conflicting claims of responsibility.
One group, the Abdullah Azzam Brigades of al Qaeda in Syria and Egypt, 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.
A previously unknown group calling itself the Holy Warriors of Egypt also faxed a statement to newspapers saying they carried out the attacks.
"Although the groups claiming responsibility are all different in name and different in reason for carrying out the attacks, it does suggest that there is a wider network at play here, and often their actions are difficult for governments and security forces to track or to anticipate," CTV Middle East Bureau Chief Janis Mackey Frayer said.
Cairo incident
Meanwhile, an explosive detonated as a man carried it from a tourist bazaar near the Pyramids of Giza on Sunday, Egyptian police said.
The blast came amid heightened fears of attacks following Saturday's bombings.
Investigators were looking into whether the man was taking the explosive to the nearby tourist area of Kerdassa, a bazaar of souvenir shops near the pyramids, an official said.
Police think the man was carrying the device in a sack, when it seemingly accidentally went off in the neighbourhood of Kufr Tuhurmus. No other injuries were reported.
The official said injuries suffered by the man, identified as Sami Gamal Ahmad, meant he couldn't be questioned yet.
Earlier reports suggested the blast went off in a residence. The Interior Ministry put out a statement saying the explosion hit the ground-floor apartment, where "leftover" explosive material may have been stored.
With a report from CTV's Janis Mackey Frayer
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak vowed to hunt down the terrorists.
A new explosive detonated on Sunday near the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt police said. It was reportedly carried by a man from a tourist bazaar. The man allegedly was carrying the bomb in a sack. It might accidentally have exploded in the area of Kufr Tuhurmus. No other injuries were reported except to the bomber himself, Sami Gamal Ahmad, who was too badly injured to be questioned. The man may have been taking the explosive to the tourist area of Kerdassa, where souvenir shops are located in a bazaar near the pyramids, said an official.

Egyptian security forces have detained 70 suspects in a sweep to find the perpetrators in Saturday's early morning bombings that killed 88 and left hundreds injured.

The police investigation of the bombings has targeted a smaller number of people than the October 2004 roundup that followed attacks in the Sinai resorts of Tabas and Ras Shitan. 3,000 people were detained for questioning in those bombings. According to Canadian ''CTV'', 200 of those people are believed to still be in custody.

A massive manhunt was undertaken in the Sinai Peninsula to identity whether it was foreigners who executed the attack. One security official speaking on the condition of anonymity told an ''Al Jazeera'' reporter that the bombers "did not appear to be locals." But the ''New York Times'' reported that Bedouin leaders were arriving at the local police headquarters, possibly over concerns that many of the suspects picked up in the prior bombing in the region were, by human rights group accounts, Bedouin.

Among the dead, officials said victims included British, Russian, Dutch, Kuwaitis, Saudis, Qataris, Czech Republic, U.S., and native Egyptians. Sixty were identified as Egyptians, and at least eight were foreigners.

Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said, "The whole world is getting very disturbed. The frequency of attacks seems to be mounting." Badawi chairs the 57-nation Organization of the Islamic Conference.
 
Resort hotels are being abandoned by tourists. At the nearest international airport, hundreds are reported trying to get flights out.

Three bombs erupted in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh just after 1am. At the Ghazala Gardens hotel, work is underway to clear the destroyed reception lobby where emergency teams have gavin up the search for survivors. A car with 660 pounds of explosives drove into the hotel's driveway and detonated in an apparent suicide attack. 

The day of the bombings is marked as an Egyptian national holiday that commemorates the bloodless coup by a group of army officers that brought them to power after deposing King Farouk in 1952. Egypt has been the victim of 15 tourist attacks since October 1992.