Sinai bombing suspect killed

2006-05-19 15:19

Cairo - A leader of an Islamist group, blamed for a spate of deadly attacks in tourist resorts in Egypt's Sinai peninsula over the past two years, was killed in an explosion on Friday.

Arafat Ouda Ali, 28, died as a device he tried to hurl at security forces - closing in on his hideout on a Rafah farm near the border with Gaza - exploded in his face, said an Egyptian security official.

He said security forces raided the farm early in the morning and a gunfight broke out.

"He tried to throw the device at them, but it exploded in his face," said the official.

Ali was wanted in connection with the triple suicide bombings in the Red Sea resort of Dahab on April 24. The blasts killed 20 people.

He was also wanted in connection with a failed attack on peacekeepers of the Multinational Force and Observers in northern Sinai.

The security official said Ali was the second-in-command of the Tawhidwal Jihad (Unification and Holy War) group.

Since the April bombings, Egyptian security forces have been combing the vast mountainous desert of Sinai to track down those they believe to be responsible.

Earlier this month, the country's interior ministry said the mastermind of the organisation behind the bombings, Nasser Khamis al-Mallahi, had been killed.

Six suspects and a policeman have been killed since the government launched its manhunt in the Sinai.

- AFP