Officials are determined that following the Taba bombings it is business as usual, reports Reem Nafie Two weeks after the bombings in Taba claimed 34 Egyptian, Israeli, Italian and Russian lives Egyptian authorities continue to downplay the event, stressing that Egypt was not the target of the attack. Although 10 Egyptians were among the casualties, and the attack occurred on Egyptian territory, the official line remains that Egyptians need not worry because the bombings were aimed at Israelis. As part of the campaign to minimise public concern almost no information relating to the ongoing investigations into the bombings has been released to the press. According to a senior official at the Ministry of the Interior, speaking on condition of anonymity, the aura of secrecy surrounding the investigation is "intentional". "We do not want Egyptians to worry about terrorist threats. This attack was not targeted at us, so why create a big fuss?" he said, adding that the ministry preferred not to release details about the investigations until they had something "concrete" to say. "We do not want to stir up public opinion when we still do not know who was responsible." But despite an official position that seeks to minimise public perceptions of any threat the authorities have found it expedient to tighten security around hotels, airports and tourist sites throughout Egypt, increasing manpower, searching cars and using police dogs to sniff for explosives. New security measures also require all travellers entering Sinai to register where they are staying. These measures, according to the source, are precautionary. They do not, he said, "indicate that we think it's going to happen again". The most recent details to appear in the Egyptian press about the investigations were published in Al-Ahram last week. The newspaper reported that four bombers were involved in the attack, all fleeing on foot minutes before their vehicles exploded. The bombers used three vehicles -- a Peugeot 504 station wagon, a small Nissan delivery van and a pick-up truck in which the explosives were hidden beneath crates of vegetables. Who the four bombers were, or if further investigations support the scenario reported, remains unclear. A security official, again speaking on condition of anonymity, told the Weekly that "dozens" of Bedouins in Sinai were being questioned and at least one has confessed to selling explosives that might have been used in the attack. However, nothing "is confirmed yet" and "the four- bomber scenario might not be valid", the security source said. Earlier this week President Hosni Mubarak told the press that it was premature to speculate on who was behind the terror attacks. Asked to comment on Arab press speculation that Israel was behind the attacks Mubarak said: "It was very different from other attacks and at the moment we can't accuse anyone... We can accuse neither Israel nor anyone else until the inquiry is over." Israel, on the other hand, has been quick to accuse groups linked to Al-Qaeda, though they have yet to produce any evidence to support the accusations. Four groups had already claimed responsibility for the bombings when the most recent claim, allegedly issued by Al-Qaeda, was e-mailed to Sada Al- Balad, an independent Lebanese newspaper. It followed claims by Mohamed's Army -- the Military Wing of the Palestinian Resistance; the Brigades of the Martyr Abdullah Azzam, which says it is affiliated to Al-Qaeda; the Tawhid Islamic Brigades and Jamaa Al- Islamiya Al-Alamiya. None of the claimants have furnished details of how the attacks were executed, a fact that has lead Egyptian and Israeli authorities to discount the claims. Mubarak supported statements by tourist officials insisting that Sinai remains safe for tourists and that the Egyptian economy is unlikely to suffer any harm in the wake of the attacks. Israeli reports, however, suggest that the vast majority of Israelis who had planned to visit Sinai have cancelled their reservations. Travel agents, while confirming the Israeli cancellations, point out that other nationalities, including British tourists -- Taba's second largest market -- have not altered their bookings. In the immediate aftermath of the explosions the Taba Company for Tourist Development (TCTD) announced that it would be redeveloping the Taba Hilton and re-opening the hotel, at full capacity, as soon as possible. The company also announced that it would be speeding-up construction of the 538-room Movenpick Taba resort: it too, it seems, believes the bombings will have no long-term impact on business.
