News

22-02-2009

Tourist Killed In Cairo Grenade Attack

Sky News - The attack took place in the bustling Khan el Khalili market in medieval Cairo, close to the historic Hussein mosque.

Witnesses say an attacker threw a grenade into a crowded cafe.

A second unexploded grenade was found at the scene by police and later diffused.

The attacker is thought to have escaped on a motorbike.

The victims included 10 French nationals, two Germans, three Saudis and two Egyptians.

It was not immediately clear who was behind the bombing or if the tourists had been deliberately targeted.

Local journalist Daniel Rivkin told Sky News: "It's clearly somebody aiming to damage the Egyptian tourist industry, which has had a very good year.

"There haven't been any terror blasts or bombings in Cairo for quite a long time and with the stability, there was increased tourism."

Mr Rivkin said the attack may have been related to Egyptian involvement in the Gaza War.

"There has been criticism of the Egyptian government over the Gaza war," he said.

"The government has been very involved in the peace process in Gaza and is holding a reconstruction conference at the beginning of next month."

The attack is the first on tourists in the Egyptian capital since 2005, when a bomb killed two tourists in the same district.

Last September, masked gunmen kidnapped 19 hostages, including 11 tourists on a safari in a remote desert area of Egypt near the Sudanese and Libyan border.