Dahab Terrorist Attack Monday, April 24, 2006 Source: AP 2

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1 Terrorist Attacks in Egypt Dahab & Northern Sinai April 24 and 26, 2006 The contents of this unclassified presentation in no way represent the policies, views, or attitudes of the United States Department of State, or the United States Government, except as otherwise noted (e.g., travel advisories, public statements). The presentation was compiled from various open sources. 1

2 Dahab Terrorist Attack Monday, April 24, 2006 Source: AP 2

3 Overview of Attacks - Dahab ¾ Three explosive devices, possibly suicide bombers, exploded in central Dahab, 80km north of Sharm El Sheikh ¾ Blasts targeted the seaside promenade and a popular shopping area Hotel restaurant, outdoor cafe, marketplace Source: BBC ¾ Preliminary casualty reports: 24+ killed - 18 Egyptian, 6 foreign Approx. 1/3 of 100+ wounded are foreigners, including four Americans ¾ 3 Third Sinai attack in 18 months, all three on Egyptian holidays or anniversary dates Source: BBC

4 Modus Operandi Location According to eyewitnesses, the first two improvised explosive devices (IEDs) exploded within approx. 15 meters of each other at opposite ends of the seaside promenade Source: AP Sites affected by the blasts include the Al Capone Restaurant, el-khaleeg Hotel, Lantern restaurant, promenade wood bridge, and Aladdin cafe The third bomb went off moments later in the Mashrabiya marketplace approx. 100 meters from the first two blasts, in an area known to be popular for souvenir shopping 4 Source: AP

5 Modus Operandi Targets Dahab has been a popular, low-key destination for young Western and Israeli backpackers Prime scuba diving sites Cheap hotels, mainly consisting of huts set up along the beach Businesses in immediate vicinity of blasts are all part of Egyptian tourist industry Recently, a number of more upscale hotels have been built, including a five-star Hilton resort Hilton was NOT directly targeted or damaged by the blasts 5

6 Modus Operandi Timing The blasts occurred nearly simultaneously at approximately 7:15pm (local time) Streets were crowded with tourists, mainly with Egyptians, Europeans, Americans, Asians, Israelis, and expatriates living in Egypt Monday was part of a five-day spring holiday in Egypt (Coptic Easter, springtime festival of Sham Al Nessim, and Sinai Liberation Day anniversary) 6 Source: AP Source: CNN

7 Modus Operandi Tactics Initial reports suggested the devices had been detonated remotely Media sources are now reporting that new details make it more likely the attackers were suicide bombers Tactics applied in these attacks would represent an evolution from previous Sinai incidents Less-sophisticated, yet maintaining high yield of casualties Source: AP 7

8 Fifth Attack on Egyptian Tourist Industry in 18 Months 8 October 6, Taba & Ras Shitan Three car bombs exploded at Egyptian resort areas. The largest explosion, at the Hilton Taba hotel, killed 34. The other two bombs exploded in Ras Shitan, a camp area 35 miles to the south of Taba April 7, Cairo, Khan el-khalili Bazaar An explosive device detonated in a bazaar. The blast killed the attacker, two French citizens, and an American and wounded 18 others April 30, Central Cairo An improvised explosive device detonated as a would-be attacker jumped off a highway overpass in central Cairo; the resulting explosion caused non-life threatening injuries to seven people near the Egyptian Museum July 23, Sharm El Sheikh, Na ama Bay Two car bombs and one device in a bag or suitcase killed at least 88, wounding an excess of 200

9 Claims of Responsibility There has been no immediate claim of responsibility; Israeli defense officials believe Egyptian Islamic extremists aided by World Jihad, affiliated with Al-Qaida, were responsible for the explosions The explosions came a day after Usama Bin Laden issued a call to arms to Muslims to support al-qaida in fighting what he calls a war against Islam In March, Government of Egypt (GOE) officially recognized Tawhid wa Jihad as the terror group responsible for the Taba and Sharm el Sheikh attacks Speculation by media analysts has focused on this group, aka Unification and Holy War, as likely suspects 9

10 Egyptian Government Response According to media reports, the roads in and out of Dahab were being controlled by checkpoints and a curfew existed overnight in the town An Egyptian government spokesperson stated that access in and out of other cities in South Sinai were also closed by checkpoints Egyptian Cabinet spokesman Dr. Majdi Radi has confirmed that the Egyptian authorities had not received any threats prior to the attacks 10 Source: AFP

11 Status of Investigations According to media reports, Egyptian police sources stated that 30 suspects had been arrested in the days after the attacks No information was immediately made available regarding their identities or suspected connections to national or international terror groups Numerous others have been detained for police questioning Source: AFP According to press reports, GOE sources stated that the devices used appear to have contained relatively small amounts of explosive material 11

12 Northern Sinai Attacks Wednesday, April 26, 2006 Source: AP 12

13 Overview of Attacks - Northern Sinai, Gaza ¾ A suicide bomber detonated against a Multinational Force and Observers (MFO) military vehicle in Northern Sinai ¾ A second suicide bomber detonated against an Egyptian police vehicle in the same area as the first attack ¾ Palestinian security forces seized a vehicle filled with explosives at an Egyptian-Gaza border crossing Source: Google Earth 13

14 Modus Operandi - Northern Sinai 11:10am Suicide bomber detonated against a multinational force (MFO) military vehicle in the vicinity of the MFO North camp in northern Sinai near Rafah MFO press release indicated none of the passengers sustained significant injures although the vehicle was damaged 11:30am - A second suicide bomber riding a bicycle detonated against an Egyptian police vehicle, reportedly in the el Arish area or near the MFO camp Press reports indicate the police officers sustained minor injuries and the suicide bomber was killed Media reports that the police were responding to the first incident 14 Source: AP

15 Modus Operandi - Gaza Border Palestinian security forces seized a vehicle filled with explosives at the Kami border crossing between Egyptian and Gaza According to Palestinian sources, militants tried unsuccessfully to ram at least one explosives-laden car into the crossing 3 security officers and 2 civilians were wounded in exchanges of fire Militants who were apprehended reportedly belong to the Popular Resistance Committee, which was behind the 2003 attack on a U.S. convoy in Gaza, in which 3 Americans were killed 15

16 Assessment of April 26 Incidents An Egyptian spokesman reported that one of the suicide bombers is Bedouin, possibly relating these incidents to Monday s attacks in Dahab Most members of the Bedouin group blamed for attacks in Sinai over the past two years came from el Arish After the Taba attack in 2004, a sweeping police investigation was widely reported to have radicalized the Sinai Bedouin group A similar police response to the 2005 Sharm El Sheikh attacks provoked several subsequent skirmishes between the Bedouin group and Egyptian security forces The timing of these attacks and communications from Bin Laden and al-zarqawi is a concern, but is most likely coincidence 16

17 For More Information U.S. Embassy Cairo, Egypt Warden Message: Egyptian Resort Bombing OSAC Egypt OSAC Crime and Safety Report 17