Blast hits Sinai tourist bus in Egypt Taba, at least 4 dead

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Blast hits Sinai tourist bus in Egypt Taba, at least 4 dead

Post by DJKeefy »

An attack on a tourist bus in the Red Sea resort town of Taba has killed at least four.

It is the first attack on tourists during a terrorist campaign that has rocked the country since the ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in July 2013.

Three Korean tourists and the Egyptian bus driver were killed, while 14 others were injured in the blast on Sunday afternoon, security sources told Al-Ahram's correspondent in South Sinai.

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Earlier, security sources had told Al-Ahram Arabic news website that the bus was targeted by a missile.

However, South Sinai governor Khaled Fouda told private satellite channel CBC TV that the blast resulted from an explosive device planted on the bus.

Fouda stressed that investigations are still underway: "Until they are over, we cannot be sure of the cause of the explosion."

The explosion damaged the front of the bus, the interior ministry said.

Most casualties were taken to Taba and Nuweiba hospitals, Ahram Arabic reporter Hani El-Asmar said. While the urgent cases were taken to Sharm El-Sheikh International Hospital.

Embassies can transfer their nationals via airplane if needed, Tourism Minister Hisham Zaazou told CBC.

Thirty tourists of various nationalities were on the bus when it was attacked.

The authorities have closed off the international road leading to Taba to search for the perpetrators.

Seoul is in constant contact with the Egyptian authorities, Foreign Ministry spokesman Cho Tae-young told the Korean Times.

A pattern of bombings and assassination attempts has been growing since Morsi's ouster.

The main targets have been police and military installations in the Sinai Peninsula.

There have also been an increasing number of attacks in Cairo and the Nile Delta region in recent months.

Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis, an Al-Qaeda-inspired Islamist militant group based in Sinai, has taken responsibility for many recent attacks in Egypt.

The last major attack on tourists in Egypt took place in 2006 when a bomb killed 23 people in Dahab in South Sinai.

In 2005, 88 people died in a bomb attack in Sharm El-Sheikh, an hour drive from Dahab.

In 2004, 34 people died and 135 were injured in a terrorist blast in Taba.

The Egyptian tourism industry, once worth more than a tenth of the country's economic output, has been struggling to recover since the 2011 revolution.

It has suffered further blows since last summer's political upheaval, which saw Islamist president Mohamed Morsi ousted after mass protests against his rule.

Egypt welcomed around 8.7 million tourists in the first eleven months of 2013, compared with 10.5 million in the same period of 2012.

In October 2013, Zaazou said that Egypt aimed to attract 13.5 million visitors in 2014, to bring in around $11 billion.

Source: http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/94375.aspx


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Re: Blast hits Sinai tourist bus in Egypt Taba, at least 4 d

Post by LovelyLadyLux »

Another nail in the coffin of the tourism industry methinks. I'm only surprised it took this long for the terrorists to turn towards tourism.

Actually I am surprised they have not started taking tourists hostage. Taking people hostage, especially from multiple nationalities gets them much more attention and attention over time than blowing up a single bus and you can drag out the giving back of hostages ad nauseum. Pop one or two off periodically also keeps you in the newspapers. Good this isn't happening but it is something I could forsee happening.

I've been watching the Sunday morning news here and so far no mention of this attack. Today the focus seems to be on Syria.

As the word of this attack gets out it will no doubt bring another spate of alerts and warnings being issued which will then throw all would be tourists into the dilemma of whether they're going to travel to Egypt or not. The airlines might make the decisions for them and cancel any and all flights. Am sure none of the airlines want their planes attacked.

Really a sad state and Egypt is going to continue to go down IMO.
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Re: Blast hits Sinai tourist bus in Egypt Taba, at least 4 d

Post by Grandad »

Until now, the South Sinai resorts have not been considered off limits by our Foreign Office, I bet that will soon change. :(

Edit: Just checked and they are reporting the incident on the FCO website. No change yet to the tourist advice but that might change in the coming hours. Haven't read all the above reort but the FCO say the bus was near to Eilat, Israel so it was in a danger area.
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Re: Blast hits Sinai tourist bus in Egypt Taba, at least 4 d

Post by LovelyLadyLux »

I haven't checked the Canadian or US FCO sites either. IF it is determined that somebody was lobbing a bomb or blast at Israel - well - that seems an accepted and ok thing to do. I mean, it isn't, but since it happens so often I don't think anybody would relate this to tourists. IF, on the other hand, it is determined a bomb was placed specifically on a tour bus to target tourists THAT will be a whole different ball game.

Either way - missile arriving from the air or a bomb being placed on tour buses - this is bound to start happening sooner or later as the terrorists get more desperate to advance their cause. Tourists are also least likely to 'fire back' at them and, IMO, would be considered easy targets AND quite likely to get the terrorists lots of notoriety for their heinous acts.

I definitely hope all of this - oh for the right word - all this 'stuff' settles down in Egypt and all over the Middle East. Tunisia seems to have come out of it all relatively unscathed and positive however I feel great apprehension for the people of Syria. "WE" are not helping them, I'm not sure "WE" should but "WE" have to do something soon to end the ongoing strife that is happening there.

I think in some respects to lop the head off a terrorist organization doesn't really matter. There are lots in the wings waiting and able to take over and the group has an ardent and fervent message. I do think, in Syria, taking out Asad would cause a diminishment of the situation. You can apply whatever definition of "take out" you'd like. I'm not sure which one I would want but any act that gets him out of power I believe would stop lots of the carnage that is going on now.
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