Egypt cops make breakthrough

2005-07-27 10:38

Sharm El-Sheik - Investigators identified an Egyptian as a possible suicide bomber in the weekend terror attacks at this Red Sea resort and were searching for his suspected Islamic militant cohorts - the first break in the probe.

A relative of Moussa Badran told The Associated Press on Tuesday that he disappeared after deadly attacks at two other Sinai resorts in October, and that some family members were detained afterward.

The development came as two security officials revealed that authorities received information of an imminent terror attack in Sharm el-Sheik several days before the bombings on Saturday. But they believed casinos would be targeted, so security was increased around those sites, not hotels.

The officials would not say where the tip came from but said headquarters in Cairo told security forces in Sharm to be on alert and to step up measures around key locations.

Identified more suspects

It appeared authorities chose the wrong possible targets to watch, said one of the officials in Cairo. Both officials are close to the inquiry and spoke on condition of anonymity because the information was not authorised for release.

Security was heightened around casinos on the theory they would be attacked because Israelis come to Sharm for gambling, which is banned in their country.

The government has sacked the heads of security in North and South Sinai provinces, an apparent sign of the failures that may have allowed the assault on one of Egypt's most closely guarded tourist towns.

Instead of going after casinos, bombers in two explosives-laden trucks targeted hotels. As many as 88 people were killed.

Police had been studying two bodies found at the Ghazala as possible bombers because the remains were dismembered. DNA tests identified one of the bodies as that of Moussa Badran, an Egyptian resident of Sinai who police said has links to Islamic militants.

The second body from the Ghazala is still being tested. A third body in Sharm's Old Market, the site of the other truck explosion, is also being examined as a possible bomber.

Hours after the Sharm blast, police took DNA samples from Badran's father and siblings and from other families with relatives who have gone into hiding since the Taba attacks, al-Sawarka said.

Security forces took in 70 people for questioning on Tuesday, bringing to 140 the number questioned since Saturday's attacks.

Security officials in el-Arish said that, based on information from interrogations, they were looking for two other people from the area, Moussa Ayad Suleiman Awda and Ahmed Ibrahim Hamad Ibrahim, in connection with the Sharm attacks.

Investigators are concentrating on the theory that the bombings were carried out by Egyptian militants, but were not excluding the possibility they received international help, the security officials in Cairo said.

- AP