Security forces are searching for a man whose attacks on young women have spread panic among the residents of New Maadi, reports Jailan Halawi The Maadi saffah, literally serial killer, has become the talk of town. Not that any murders have been reported, but that hasn't deterred the Egyptian press or those interviewed by Al-Ahram Weekly from referring to the alleged perpetrator of a string of attacks against women as a homicidal psychopath. The story that has grabbed the attention of the public began on 20 December when news reports appeared of an assailant who attacked young women and then fled the scene on a motorbike. "I was hanging laundry on the roof when suddenly I was strangled from behind by a slim, Caucasian male of average height who stabbed my stomach with a cutter," recalls 22-year-old Dina Ahmed Abdel-Rahman, the attacker's latest victim, a resident of the shanty town of Arab Al-Maadi, an extension of the popular New Maadi neighbourhood north of Cairo. The assailant was not seen by any neighbours or by the victim as he went up and down the stairs of the building. "I did not sense anything unusual in the house except when I heard a heavy thump on the roof. I went upstairs with Dina's fiancé and found her unconscious on the floor. We immediately took her to hospital," says Abdel-Rahman's mother. Abdel-Rahman, attacked on Saturday 20 January, was the sixth victim. Four of the six attacks occurred in the popular Basateen district, two in the shanty district of Arab Al-Maadi. Conflicting reports about the number of victims and the seriousness of their injuries have circulated, though doctors who have treated some of those attacked say rumours suggesting the assailant is a deranged serial killer are exaggerations. "No one has been killed, and with the exception of the first two cases the injuries sustained by the victims were not grave," says Said Abdel-Aal, deputy head of the hospital in Maadi that has treated victims. In Abdel-Rahman's case, says Abdel-Aal, her injuries were confined to minor bruises, hardly reason to "announce a state of emergency". That victims of attacks have given conflicting descriptions of their assailant has led some to speculate that the assaults are the work of more than one person. The assailant has been variously described as fair skinned and of medium height and dark skinned, tall and well built. Mustafa Eleiwa, father of 22-year-old nurse Fatma, the fifth victim, attacked on the stairs of her building, describes the culprit as short and thin. Like Abdel-Rahman, the assailant attacked Eleiwa from behind. She managed to escape his grip and attempted to defend herself. The masked assailant then stabbed her several times. Not all the attacks have been so violent, yet they have spread panic among the residents of New Maadi, and many of the victims have left the area to stay with relatives elsewhere. They have also, say reports, been advised not to speak to the press for reasons of "personal safety". Meanwhile, the police are intensifying efforts to find the culprit. Checkpoints have been stationed along the Autostrade linking Maadi to Nasr City. The streets of New Maadi are filled with plain-clothed policemen, while nearby Maadi, home to many foreign diplomats, including the Israeli ambassador to Egypt, embassies as well as the head of Cairo security department, Major General Ismail El-Shaer, already receives blanket police coverage.
