Dozens killed at Egyptian resort

DOZENS were feared killed after last night’s bomb attack hit an Egyptian resort at the height of the tourist season.

Early reports said that at least 30 people had been killed and more than a 100 injured after three bombs struck Dahab.

Police said the explosions hit the central part of the city where there are many shops, restaurants, bars and guesthouses.

The blasts ripped through the el-Masbat area of the town shortly after nightfall when the streets would have been jammed with tourists, mainly Europeans, Israelis and Americans.

Dr Said Essa, who runs the Sinai rescue squad, said at least 18 people were killed and 150 wounded at the el-Khaleeg Hotel only. He said there were casualties from the other explosions.

A witness, Serge Loussararian, said an explosion took place in an area with restaurants and bars.

"We heard the explosion and then we saw a big light. And a lot of people running," he said.

Terrorist attacks have killed nearly 100 people at several tourist resorts of Egypt's Sinai region in the past two years.

Joseph Nazir, who owns a safari company in Dahab, said one of the blasts had happened at the Al Capone restaurant, one of the most popular in the resort.

He said the restaurant had been busy and had been completely destroyed.

Mr Nazir said the blast had covered an area of around 100sq m.

He said many Egyptians had been on holiday in the area at the time.

"We will be affected by this for a long, long time."

For years, Dahab was popular, low-key haven for young Western backpackers including Israelis drawn by prime scuba diving sites and cheap hotels, which mainly consisted of huts set up along the beach.

In recent years, a number of more upscale hotels have been built, including a five-star Hilton resort.

Dahab is on the Gulf of Aqaba on the eastern side of the Sinai Peninsula and is about 65 miles south of Taba, near the border at the southern tip of Israel.

Israel's ambassador in Cairo, Shalom Cohen, told Israel's Channel 10 TV there have been repeated warnings from the Israeli government against visiting the Sinai Desert, where Israelis have been targeted in the past.

The manager of the Dahab Divers Hotel & Dive Centre said one blast happened about 200m from its office.

He said he thought two were in separate restaurants, and the third was in the centre of the town.

"There was 20-30m between each of the bombs. It's not a car bomb thing.

"They were inside the restaurants. Someone maybe put it under the table."

He said the resort area was full at the moment, and he believed at least 100 people must have been hurt.

British and French tourists were known to have been in the area at the time of the blasts.

There was no immediate word on whether there had been any Irish casualties.