BLASTS ROCK EGYPTIAN RESORT

Blasts Kill 18 in Egyptian Resort City.

CAIRO, Egypt - Three explosions rocked the Egyptian resort city of Dahab at the height of the tourist season Monday, killing at least 18 people and wounding more than 150 at just one hotel, according to the doctor in charge of the Sinai peninsula rescue squad. Police said the explosions hit the central part of the city where there are many shops, restaurants, bars and guesthouses. The blasts ripped through the town shortly after nightfall when the streets would have been jammed with tourists, mainly with Europeans, Israelis and expatriates living in Egypt. Dr. Said Essa, who runs the rescue squad, said his casualty figures were for victims at the el-Khaleeg Hotel only. He said there were casualties from the other explosions. A witness, Serge Loussararian, told CNN that an explosion took place in an area with restaurants and bars. “We heard the explosion and then we saw a big light. And a lot of people running,” he said.

THE Jerusalem Post REPORTS THAT THIS AREA IS FREQUENTED BY ISRAELI TOURISTS. IN FACT, 3 WERE INJURED IN THE ATTACK:

Seventeen people were killed and at least 150 were wounded on Monday night in three massive explosions in Dahab, on the east of Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula. People were frantically trying to escape the area and dozens of ambulances were at the scene, Zaka reported. The bombs were apparantly placed on a bridge, in the El-Kalheeg Hotel cafeteria and near a police station prior to the explosions. Following the blasts Israel’s security forces raised the level of alert in Eilat. It was unclear if Israelis were among the casualties. The Sinai resort is commonly frequented by Israeli holidaymakers and is located on the Gulf of Aqaba on the eastern side of the Sinai Peninsula. Germans, Italians and British tourists were also reported to be in the area.

IT DIDN'T TAKE LONG FOR THE EGYPTIANS TO BLAME THE JEWS:

Egyptian analyst: Can’t rule out that Mossad was involved in attack.

Retired General Salah al-Din Salim, an Egyptian researcher at the Strategic Studies Institute in Cairo, said that it could not be ruled out that the Israeli Mossad was involved in the terror attack in Dahab. “The Mossad’s ability to penetrate the Bedouins in Sinai is known,” Salim said in an interview with al-Jazeera.