As the Sinai bombing investigations enter their second week, the attackers' identities remain anybody's guess, giving way to plenty of theories. Omayma Abdel-Latif reports A few hours after the Sinai bombings took place, Egyptian security officials who flocked to the scene stuck to the same line: "No one group or organisation has been ruled out." In the days that followed, and as the investigation now enters its second week, this seems to still be the case. As with many similarly major tragedies, plenty of theories emerged as soon as news of the bombings broke out last Thursday night. With every passing day, the avalanche of contradictory reports and press leaks about the investigation's twists and turns -- mostly quoting anonymous security sources -- further complicated the situation, as did the absence of any official statement about the investigation proceedings, and the seemingly total anonymity of the attackers themselves. Israel, wanting to capitalise on the situation by appearing to be a victim of "global terror", stuck to its claim of blaming Al-Qaeda, an allegation that Egyptian officials initially described as "hasty and premature". The truth was further muddied when three unknown Islamist organisations claimed responsibility for the attacks. One group called Kataaeb Al-Shahid Abdullah Azzam (The Abdullah Azzam Martyr's Brigade) described itself as an "Al-Qaeda organisation in the Levant and Egypt". In a statement posted on the Internet, the group claimed that it would target "the Israeli presence in both Egypt and Jordan". The authenticity of the statement, however, could not be verified. The official Egyptian line continued to underplay any possible Al-Qaeda link. Sources close to the investigation told the London- based Al-Hayat newspaper on Tuesday that investigators were leaning towards a theory suggesting that the bombings were the result of a coordinated effort between a local group, and individuals who legally crossed the borders from neighbouring countries into Nuweiba. A review of the lists of all those who entered Sinai through Nuweiba had disclosed the likelihood that none of the culprits had appeared on the country's "wanted" list. Security forces, meanwhile, rounded up dozens of Bedouin tribesmen, hoping for a lead regarding where the explosives used in the bombings came from, and to whom they were sold. The investigation team is operating on the theory that the type and size of the explosives suggest that they were brought into the country from either Israel or Jordan. Despite the fact that both Egyptian and Israeli officials denied any possible Palestinian involvement in the attacks, the investigating team did not rule out the possibility of a Palestinian link -- not necessarily to Hamas or Jihad, but to some disgruntled individuals who are angry about Egypt's role vis-�-vis the Palestinian issue. Amongst the general public, a more lively debate was raging about the possible identity of the attackers. Hossam Sweilam, a retired armed forces general, and an expert in Egyptian- Israeli affairs, said the bombings had Al- Qaeda's fingerprints all over them. "The type of explosives, and the way the operation was conducted, suggests that those behind it are experts of the highest order," Sweilam told Al- Ahram Weekly. He pointed out that since the attacks took place in the Sinai Peninsula's Zone C (in which Egypt's maintains a small police presence, in accordance with the terms of the Egyptian-Israeli Peace Treaty), the culprits must have capitalised on the fact that there were not enough security forces in the area to abort any attempts. Sweilam dismissed the possibility that an Egyptian group had carried out the attacks. "For that to have happened," he explained, "they would have had to come through the eastern side of the peninsula, which is heavily guarded by Egyptian security forces; the chances of getting through would have been nil. The perpetrators, therefore, must have come through the western side, particularly from the mountains and the Bedouin areas, or via Jordan or Israel." Sweilam said the type of explosives referred to in initial reports must have been smuggled into the country. He said the Israelis should be held just as responsible for the attacks as anyone else, since their borders are mere metres from the hotel; thus if any perpetrators had crossed over from Israel, they should have been stopped by Israeli border guards. In all cases, he said, the Israelis must have been keeping a close watch on what was going on in Taba since there were so many Israeli tourists there. Analysts who dismissed the possibility that Al-Qaeda had done it, left the possibility open that a local group inspired by Al-Qaeda but not necessarily affiliated to it, may have been behind the blasts. "To say that Al-Qaeda has a hand in Sinai is very far fetched," said one security expert who has done work on radical Islamist groups. "Al-Qaeda has now been reduced to no more than an idea, rather than an organisation that really exists." Also on the list of usual suspects were Egypt's Islamist groups, which carried out violent attacks during the 1990s against the Egyptian regime. The sophistication of the operation, however, suggested that it was unlikely to have been carried out by any of Egypt's radical Islamist groups. According to Islamist lawyer Montasser El-Zayat, the Egyptian Jihad group, a known Al-Qaeda ally, has been weakened by security strikes against it, and does not have the logistical capabilities to conduct such a massive operation. Egypt's Al-Gamaa Al-Islamyia, meanwhile, issued a statement condemning the attacks. While the statement acknowledged that the attacks could be "a response to [Israeli Prime Minister Ariel] Sharon's arrogant and aggressive policies," it added, nonetheless, that, "targeting the Israelis in Taba only helps improve Sharon's image, and makes him appear to be the victim whose people are targeted inside and outside of Palestine." Amin Iskander of the Nasserist Al-Karama Party suggested that an anti-normalisation group might have carried out the attacks. "They don't necessarily have to have been conducted under an Islamic rubric, and we have had examples of that type of activism in the past." Iskander was referring to a clandestine operation, exposed in the late 1980s, aiming to assassinate Israeli officials in Egypt. He also mentioned Suleiman Khater, the Egyptian conscript who shot seven Israeli tourists in 1985. Iskander believes that the attacks were merely a response to the brute use of force and daily Israeli terrorism inflicted upon the Palestinians. For many Egyptians, the culprit was obvious: Israel. "Clearly, this is the work of intelligence, and specifically Israeli intelligence," Essam El- Eryan, a senior member of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group, told the Weekly. The endgame of the attack, according to El- Eryan, is to put further pressure on Egypt to adopt the Israeli-American agenda under the guise of combating international terrorism, which in fact means adopting the Israeli definition of terrorism that includes the Palestinian resistance movement. Advocates of an Israeli connection also point out that Israel has a history of hitting at Jewish targets in order to achieve higher goals. They cite the Lavon affair in Egypt, the bombing of Jerusalem's King David Hotel, and the bombing of Jewish synagogues in Iraq to force Iraqi Jews to migrate to Israel, as incidents that give weight to their argument. El-Eryan said the bombings serve an Israeli agenda because Israel has been vying for a spectacular event to divert attention from the terror it is inflicting upon the Palestinians in Gaza while the world remains silent. "The question of who carried out the attacks," said El-Eryan, "should not divert our attention from the broader picture, which is one of state terror, brutal occupation and a ruthless use of force against a civilian population." El-Eryan said, "it is very much in Israel's interest to appear as victims of terror both in Israel and outside of it. This is why the media focus is on the 13 Israelis who died -- even though five of them are Arabs -- while no tears have been shed for the Italians, the Russians and the Egyptians who were victims of the same incident."
