The police have arrested a number of suspects, and investigated with the shopkeepers and hotel customers in Al-Hussein, in an attempt to discover those responsible for the bombings that took place there on Sunday, killing a French woman and wounding 17 other French tourists, two Egyptians, three Saudis and a German. A French judicial source told Agence France-Presse that the Counter-Terrorism Prosecutor in Paris has started a preliminary investigation on the incident, in order to provide a legal framework to enable possible prosecution against the perpetrators of the attack. Security sources said 11 Egyptians who were at the site of the blast on Sunday evening were arrested, but did not say if the police had evidence against them. They said that this is a usual procedure, and that they would be released if found having no connection with the incident, just as two veiled women and a man were released for the same reason. Forensics examined the other bomb that was defused and said it was a homemade device put in a tin box or pottery vessel, and that the injuries were caused by the sliver of the marble benches in the square. They are currently examining whether the device works by remote control, timer or collision with an object. Cairo Investigation Director Amin Ezz Eddine said the alleged story that the perpetrators ran away on a motorcycle is not true, as motorcycles and cars are not allowed into the area.
The State Security yesterday heard the testimonies of 19 witnesses and 16 injured, who said the attacker fled in a Peugeot that was waiting on Al-Azhar Street. While the stock market was not affected by the incident, as it rose by 1.2%, experts predicted a 10-15% decline in tourism next week. And the travel agencies have canceled the Khan Khalili Bazzar from their itineraries. They said there were no cancellations of bookings yet. Meanwhile, the 55 French tourists that left Cairo yesterday did so as their trip had ended and not due to the incident, although some of their colleagues were injured in it. Also the French Foreign Ministry said there was no reason to advise the French nationals not to travel to Egypt. For his part, PA Speaker Dr. Fathi Sorour attributed the incident to the radical Israeli policies against the Palestinian factions, stressing that this would not affect passing a bill against terrorism. Other MPs accused foreign forces of being behind the bombings. On the other hand, the bombing has raised fears among the Sufi Association, as it would celebrate the prophet's birthday in 13 days with a parade before Al-Hussein mosque, the scene of the bombings. Sufi Sheikh Mohamed el-Shahawi said: “The security forces must cancel the parade that would be attended by thousands of Sufis from all over Egypt so as to protect them from another terrorist act.”
Sheikh Mohamed Abdel Meguid el-Sharnoubi said the celebration should be held on a small scale inside the mosque only.
