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Three Explosions in Egyptian Resort Town

More than 150 are dead or wounded, according to the doctor who runs Egypt's Sinai Peninsula rescue squad, after three explosions rocked the resort town of Dahab Monday night, not far from Sharm el Sheik where simultaneous bomb attacks killed up to 88 people last July.

Both sites are scuba diving resort towns on the Red Sea's Gulf of Aqaba, popular among westerners and Israelis.

According to Haaretz.com, at least 22 people were killed in the attacks, which hit a hotel, a restaurant, and the town's market area.

This is high tourist season - part of a five-day Egyptian holiday - and hotels all along the Egyptian coasts could be expected to be at near capacity.

"There is smoke coming from the area and there are people running everywhere," said the witness, who did not want to be named.

Body parts and debris were seen in the streets after an explosion in a tourist restaurant, other residents said. One visitor said cars and buses leaving the resort were being stopped by police.
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Groups claiming links to Al-Qaida took responsibility for those attacks, and Egyptian authorities say new Islamic militant groups have arisen in the peninsula - but they are still trying to determine if they have any real connection to al-Qaida or other international terrorists.

Among the groups that took credit for July's Sharm el Sheik bombings were Abdullah Azzam Brigades, Tawhid and Jihad Group in Egypt, and Holy Warriors of Egypt.

The timing of this attack is somewhat alarming, coming so immediately on the heels of yesterday's release of a new audio recording of Osama bin Laden, an event speculated to be a method of triggering attacks.  But the substance of bin Laden's most recent cavecast was to encourage jihadis to fight the oppressors in Sudan, not Egypt.

"I call on the mujahideen and their supporters in Sudan ... and the Arabian peninsula to prepare all that is necessary to wage a long-term war against the Crusaders in western Sudan," bin Laden said, accusing the West of seeking to divide Sudan.

Sudan hosted bin Laden in the 1990s, but on the tape he criticised a U.S.-backed peace deal between Khartoum and southern rebels and slammed the Sudanese government for not enforcing Islamic sharia law throughout the country.

The terror bombings came during a 5-day Egyptian holiday, however, a time when hotels were sure to be near capacity, so the timing in conjunction with the release of the tape may be coincidental.  The July 2005 Sharm el Sheik attacks and the October 2004 terror bombings in Taba also fell during Egyptian holidays.

Elsewhere:
Vital Perspective (liveblog), Michelle Malkin, Gateway Pundit, Wizbang, The Political Pit Bull, Atlas Shrugs, Gina Cobb, A Blog For All

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Update:

The North Korea Times and The Malaysia Sun (which appear to be the one and the same online and are of indeterminate credibility) are reporting the death toll has climbed as high as 100 and that the Egyptian Interior Ministry is confirming an official toll of 90.

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Three Explosions in Egyptian Resort Town

More than 150 are dead or wounded, according to the doctor who runs Egypt's Sinai Peninsula rescue squad, after three explosions rocked the resort town of Dahab Monday night, not far from Sharm el Sheik where simultaneous bomb attacks killed up to 88 people last July.

Both sites are scuba diving resort towns on the Red Sea's Gulf of Aqaba, popular among westerners and Israelis.

According to Haaretz.com, at least 22 people were killed in the attacks, which hit a hotel, a restaurant, and the town's market area.

This is high tourist season - part of a five-day Egyptian holiday - and hotels all along the Egyptian coasts could be expected to be at near capacity.

"There is smoke coming from the area and there are people running everywhere," said the witness, who did not want to be named.

Body parts and debris were seen in the streets after an explosion in a tourist restaurant, other residents said. One visitor said cars and buses leaving the resort were being stopped by police.
...
Groups claiming links to Al-Qaida took responsibility for those attacks, and Egyptian authorities say new Islamic militant groups have arisen in the peninsula - but they are still trying to determine if they have any real connection to al-Qaida or other international terrorists.

Among the groups that took credit for July's Sharm el Sheik bombings were Abdullah Azzam Brigades, Tawhid and Jihad Group in Egypt, and Holy Warriors of Egypt.

The timing of this attack is somewhat alarming, coming so immediately on the heels of yesterday's release of a new audio recording of Osama bin Laden, an event speculated to be a method of triggering attacks.  But the substance of bin Laden's most recent cavecast was to encourage jihadis to fight the oppressors in Sudan, not Egypt.

"I call on the mujahideen and their supporters in Sudan ... and the Arabian peninsula to prepare all that is necessary to wage a long-term war against the Crusaders in western Sudan," bin Laden said, accusing the West of seeking to divide Sudan.

Sudan hosted bin Laden in the 1990s, but on the tape he criticised a U.S.-backed peace deal between Khartoum and southern rebels and slammed the Sudanese government for not enforcing Islamic sharia law throughout the country.

The terror bombings came during a 5-day Egyptian holiday, however, a time when hotels were sure to be near capacity, so the timing in conjunction with the release of the tape may be coincidental.  The July 2005 Sharm el Sheik attacks and the October 2004 terror bombings in Taba also fell during Egyptian holidays.

Elsewhere:
Vital Perspective (liveblog), Michelle Malkin, Gateway Pundit, Wizbang, The Political Pit Bull, Atlas Shrugs, Gina Cobb, A Blog For All

---

Update:

The North Korea Times and The Malaysia Sun (which appear to be the one and the same online and are of indeterminate credibility) are reporting the death toll has climbed as high as 100 and that the Egyptian Interior Ministry is confirming an official toll of 90.