2004 Sinai bombings
Encyclopedia
Hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...
s in the Sinai Peninsula
Sinai Peninsula
The Sinai Peninsula or Sinai is a triangular peninsula in Egypt about in area. It is situated between the Mediterranean Sea to the north, and the Red Sea to the south, and is the only part of Egyptian territory located in Asia as opposed to Africa, effectively serving as a land bridge between two...
, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, on October 7, 2004. The attacks killed 34 people and injured 171.
The bombings
The explosions occurred on the night of October 7, against the Hilton TabaHilton Taba
The Hilton Taba & Nelson Village , formerly the Sonesta Hotel and Kfar Nelson is a hotel in Taba, Egypt. Built in 1976, it was the stumbling block in negotiations between Israel and Egypt over the final border between the two countries...
and campsites used by Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
is in Ras al-Shitan. In the Taba attack, a truck drove into the lobby of the Taba Hilton and exploded, killing 31 people and wounding some 159 others. Ten floors of the hotel collapsed following the blast.
Some 50 kilometres (31.1 mi) south, at campsites at Ras al-Shitan, near Nuweiba
Nuweiba
Nuweiba is a coastal town in the eastern part of Sinai Peninsula, Egypt. Located on the coast of the Gulf of Aqaba, it sits at around . It is believed by many to be the site of the Exodus account of ancient Israelites crossing the Red Sea.-Geography:...
, two more bombings happened. A car parked in front of a restaurant at the Moon Island resort exploded, killing two Israelis and a Bedouin
Bedouin
The Bedouin are a part of a predominantly desert-dwelling Arab ethnic group traditionally divided into tribes or clans, known in Arabic as ..-Etymology:...
. Twelve were wounded. Another blast happened moments later, targeting the Baddiyah camp, but did not harm anyone because the bomber had apparently been scared off from entering the campground by a guard.
Of the dead, 15 were Egyptians
Egyptians
Egyptians are nation an ethnic group made up of Mediterranean North Africans, the indigenous people of Egypt.Egyptian identity is closely tied to geography. The population of Egypt is concentrated in the lower Nile Valley, the small strip of cultivable land stretching from the First Cataract to...
, 12 were from Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, two from Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, one from Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, and one was an Israeli-American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Nationalities of the victims
| Country | Number of victims |
|---|---|
 Egypt |
18 |
 Israel |
12 |
 Italy |
2 |
 Russia |
1 |
 United States |
1 |
| Total: | 34 |
The investigation
According to the Egyptian government, the bombers were Palestinians who had tried to enter Israel to carry out attacks there but were unsuccessful. The mastermind, Iyad Saleh, recruited Egyptians and Bedouins to gain explosives to be used in the attacks. Beginning in March 2004, the bombers used washing machineWashing machine
A washing machine is a machine designed to wash laundry, such as clothing, towels and sheets...
timers, mobile phones and modified gas cylinder
Gas cylinder
A gas cylinder is a pressure vessel used to store gases at above atmospheric pressure. High pressure gas cylinders are also called bottles. Although they are sometimes colloquially called "tanks", this is technically incorrect, as a tank is a vessel used to store liquids at ambient pressure and...
s to build the bombs. They used TNT and old explosives found in the Sinai (as it was many times a war zone), which were purchased from Bedouins, to complete the bombs.
Egypt has said that Saleh and one of his aides, Suleiman Ahmed Saleh Flayfil, died in the Hilton blast, apparently because their bomb timer had run out too fast. Three Egyptians, Younes Mohammed Mahmoud, Osama al-Nakhlawi, and Mohammed Jaez Sabbah were sentenced to death in November 2006 for their roles in the blast. Egypt arrested up to 2,400 people following the attacks.
According to investigators, there is no strong link to al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
in the blasts.
Aftermath
Israel had warned in September 2004 that terrorists were planning attacks in the Sinai, but most Israelis did not heed those warnings and went on vacation there instead. Many Israelis left the Sinai after the bombings, along with some foreign tourists, but the effects on the country's tourism were not too severe.Militants struck again
April 2005 terrorist attacks in Cairo
The April 2005 attacks were three related incidents that took place in the city of Cairo, Egypt, on 7 April and 30 April 2005.The latter two incidents are generally considered to have been minor, in that they caused no loss of life other than those of the perpetrators and appear not to have been...
in Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
at tourists in April 2005, killing three and wounding several. Resorts in Sharm el-Sheikh
Sharm el-Sheikh
Sharm el-Sheikh is a city situated on the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula, in South Sinai Governorate, Egypt, on the coastal strip along the Red Sea. Its population is approximately 35,000...
were bombed in a similar attack in July 2005 and in Dahab
Dahab
Dahab is a small town situated on the southeast coast of the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt. Formerly a Bedouin fishing village, located approximately northeast of Sharm el-Sheikh, Dahab is considered to be one of the Sinai's most treasured diving destinations...
in 2006.
See also
- April 2005 Cairo attacks
- July 2005 Sharm el-Sheikh attacks
- 2006 Dahab bombings2006 Dahab bombingsThe Dahab bombings of 24 April 2006 were three bomb attacks on the Egyptian resort city of Dahab. The resorts are popular with Western tourists and Egyptians alike during the holiday season....
- Ras Burqa massacreRas Burqa massacreThe Ras Burqa massacre was a shooting attack in October 1985 on Israeli vacationers in Ras Burqa, a beach resort area in the Sinai peninsula, in which seven Israelis were killed, including four children.-The attack:...
External links
- Blasts Hit 3 Egyptian Resorts Popular With Israelis - published on The New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
on October 8, 2004 - 27 people killed in 3 bombings - published on The New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
on October 8, 2004 - Al-Qaeda suspected in attacks at resorts in Egypt - published on USA TodayUSA TodayUSA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
on October 7, 2004 - Dozens killed in bomb blasts at Sinai resorts - published on The GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
on October 8, 2004 - Terror bombings hit Taba and Ras a-Satan in Sinai 7-Oct-2004 - published at the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs