Dozens dead in Egypt blasts

As many as seven explosions, including at least four car bombs, struck Egypt’s Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheik early today, hitting several hotels packed with foreign and Egyptian tourists and killing at least 36 people, witnesses and police said.

Saturday’s explosions at 1:15am shook windows a mile away. Smoke and fire rose from Naama Bay, a main strip of beach hotels in the desert city popular with Israeli and European tourists, witnesses said.

At least four car bombs were used in the attack, said a security official in the operations control room in Cairo monitoring the crisis.

One went off in the driveway of the Ghazala Garden hotel, a four-star resort on the main strip of hotels in Naama Bay, the official said.

Another exploded in the Old Market, an area a few miles away, killing 17 people – believed to be Egyptians – sitting at a nearby outdoor coffee shop. Three minibuses were set ablaze, though it was not clear if they were carrying passengers, the official said

A police official in Sharm el-Sheik said at least 36 people were killed and 150 wounded in what may have been as many as seven blasts, three in Naamah Bay and four in the Old Market.