EGP declines vs. USD at Thursday's close    Euro area inflation rises to 2.0% in October '24 – flash estimates    IF YOU LOVE SOMEONE WHO SMOKES, GIVE THEM THE FACTS    Asian stocks slide as chip sector weakens    Egypt's Minister of Environment highlights biodiversity issues at COP16    Egypt's Agriculture Minister meets Syrian, Bahraini counterparts to boost cooperation in Amman    Al-Qassam Brigades targets Israeli vehicles in eastern Gaza    ACUD, DP World, and GAFI sign MoU to develop free zone in New Capital    Egyptian government encourages increased mutual investment with Bahrain: Finance Minister    A Tale of Two Cities: Alexandria hosts 2nd edition of exhibition celebrating Greek, Egyptian cultural ties    Egypt, Djibouti leaders discuss strengthening ties, regional issues    Egypt's FM affirms commitment to Sahel security, offers support to Niger    Egyptian banking sector support underprivileged communities in Alexandria – CBE    Afghanistan signs $163m deal for cement plant    US tightens tech investment rules for China    Biden unveils $3b investment to strengthen US port infrastructure    Military Production, Environment Ministers inaugurate banana fiber recycling plant    Luxor Museum to host exhibition on 19th century antiquities inspection tours    Nourhan Kamal Wins 2024 Helmi Sharawy Award for African Studies    Egypt observes Intl. E-waste Day, highlights recycling efforts    Egypt's military capabilities sufficient to defend country: Al-Sisi    Al-Sisi emphasises water security is Egypt's top priority amid Nile River concerns    Cairo Opera House hosts grand opening of Arab Music Festival, Conference    Grand Egyptian Museum ready for partial trial run on October 16: PM    Colombia unveils $40b investment plan for climate transition    Kabaddi: Ancient Indian sport gaining popularity in Egypt    Ecuador's drought forces further power cuts    Al-Sisi orders sports system overhaul after Paris Olympics    Basketball Africa League Future Pros returns for 2nd season    Egypt joins Africa's FEDA    Paris Olympic gold '24 medals hit record value    A minute of silence for Egyptian sports    Paris Olympics opening draws record viewers    Who leads the economic portfolios in Egypt's new Cabinet?    Financial literacy becomes extremely important – EGX official    Motaz Azaiza mural in Manchester tribute to Palestinian journalists    Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban    It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game    Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights    Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines    Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19    Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers    Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled    Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June    We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga    Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds    Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go    Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Police Arrest 30 in Cairo Bombing
Published in Al-Ahram Weekly on 07 - 04 - 2005


Update 11 April:
Associated Press
Police Arrest 30 in Cairo Bombing
CAIRO, Egypt - Egyptian police have detained 30 people in last week's deadly bombing in a Cairo tourist bazaar, including the suspected bomber's mother, three brothers and 16 other relatives, prosecutors said.
Police arrested the family members after identifying the body of the bomber, who died in the blast that killed two French tourists and an American and wounded 18 others Thursday in Cairo's Khan al-Khalili bazaar. Among those arrested was an uncle who called authorities after seeing the suspected bomber's body in a newspaper photograph.
The suspect, Hassan Rafaat Ahmed Bashandi, was a student who became a religious extremist after his father's death, the Interior Ministry said.
Bashandi, who was 17 or 18 years old, apparently acted alone in the attack, the ministry said in a statement. He was carrying almost 7 pounds of TNT in a leather bag filled with nails when it exploded prematurely, the ministry said.
Egyptian authorities have been anxious to limit the fallout from the blast for fear it will harm the tourism industry, the No. 1 source of foreign exchange. From the outset, government officials have said the attack was likely to be the work of either one person or a small group of individuals.
The sweep of arrests was similar to one carried out after October bombings in Sinai tourist resorts that killed 34 people ó the first major terror attack in Egypt since 1997. After that, police arrested thousands, including many relatives of the bombers, in the area of the Sinai town of el-Arish.
Some of those relatives have since been released, but at least two brothers and another relative of several suspects remain in custody. Human rights groups say a total of about 2,400 people remain in custody, though the government refuses to release any figures.
Among those detained in Thursday's explosion were Bashandi's mother, his three brothers and an uncle who provided a breakthrough in the case when he notified police that the body pictured in a newspaper resembled his nephew. Fifteen other relatives and three friends were also detained, prosecutors said.
Police broke into Bashandi's apartment at 3 a.m. Sunday and detained his mother, said her landlady, Nawal Abdel-Halim.
"The family did not know where Hassan was, so they were all searching for him. His mother was not told anything about it" until police detained her, Abdel-Halim said.
In the tiny apartment, police found CDs containing data downloaded from the Internet on waging Islamic holy war and building bombs. At Bashandi's aunt's house, police found 43 fireworks from which the gunpowder had been removed.
Bashandi, born in 1987, was studying engineering at Zagazig University, north of Cairo. The Interior Ministry said that after his father died in August, he began to exhibit extreme religious positions, such as forbidding his family to watch television.
Neighbors in Shoubra el-Khaima, a low-to-middle income district in Cairo, said they could not believe Bashandi was responsible for the bombing.
Mamdouh Raafat, a neighbor who knew the family for two decades, denied that Bashandi was an extremist.
"Why do they call every pious person a terrorist? They (the family) only pray and read the Quran," he said. "They don't flirt with girls and they don't get involved in streets fights ... They don't even smoke."
Police say DNA samples from an uncle and Bashandi's mother matched that of the corpse found in the bombing.
During the 1990s, Islamic insurgents often attacked tourists in a bid to cripple the tourism industry and bring down the government.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Update 10 April:
Death toll from Cairo bomb rises to four
CAIRO (Reuters) - A Frenchman wounded in a bombing in a Cairo bazaar died on his way back to Paris for treatment, a French foreign ministry spokesman said on Sunday, bringing the death toll to four.
A French woman, an American man and a man thought to be the bomber also died in the attack on Thursday at the lively bazaar jammed with tourists.
Egyptian prosecution sources said on Sunday that they had identified the bomber from his fingerprints as a man from Qalioubia province north of Cairo and that he had three accomplices who helped him prepare the explosives.
The sources said that the four people were not part of a larger organized group. Tourism Minister Ahmed el-Maghrabi also has said the bombing was the act of an individual, not a group.
The French foreign ministry spokesman, who asked not to be named, said the Frenchman died while being repatriated from Cairo to Paris by plane on the night of Saturday/Sunday.
Doctors in Cairo had taken the decision to send the man back to France for treatment, the spokesman said from Paris.
The man's wife, who was less seriously injured in the attack, had already returned to France, a senior Egyptian official said on Friday. The French spokesman declined to name the man or release any personal details.
Maghrabi quoted doctors on Friday as saying the Frenchman, who had been in a critical condition, was out of danger.
The bombing, which also injured 11 Egyptians and seven other foreigners, took place in the crowded Moski area Islamic Cairo in a street full of shops selling perfumes, carpets, jewelry and souvenirs for tourists.
MILITANT TRUCE It was the worst attack on tourists in the Nile valley since 1997, when militant Islamists armed with guns and swords killed 58 tourists and four Egyptians at a Pharaonic temple near the southern town of Luxor
After that incident, the militant Gama'a al-Islamiya (Islamic Group), which had tried to overthrow the government by force, decided on a long-term truce. Many leading members have since abandoned their commitment to violence.
A group calling itself the Islamic Pride Brigades in the Land of the Nile said on an Islamist Web site that one of its militants carried out the bombing on Thursday to protest against the "tyranny" of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's government and U.S. policies in the region.
There was no way to authenticate the claim or judge whether such a group exists.
Analysts said some militant Islamists in Egypt may be growing impatient with the truce at a time when regional tensions are high over U.S. policies in the Middle East. Militants say Mubarak serves U.S. interests.
The bombing also coincided with a state of ferment in Egyptian politics, with frequent demonstrations against a fifth six-year term for Mubarak, who has been in power since 1981.
The bombing hit Egyptian stocks hard on Sunday morning when the market reopened after the Muslim weekend,
The benchmark index for Egyptian stocks fell 3.7 percent but brokers said they thought that the worst was over.
"If it (the bombing) passes off as a one-off thing, then the impact will be minor, especially for the foreign investors and the institutions. As long as they are positive on the economy, this will be just a hiccup on the way," said Yasser Hassanein, a broker at Dynamic Securities.


Clic here to read the story from its source.