Egypt terror suspects detained

Egyptian police have detained at least 15 men in and around Sharm El Sheikh in connection with the weekend terrorist attacks on the Sinai Peninsula resort, security officials said today.

Police are also searching for a green pickup truck in northern Sinai that may have been the getaway vehicle for some of the attackers responsible for the weekend’s three pre-dawn bombings that hospital officials said killed up to 88 people.

Two security officials, who both declined to be identified because the release of the information had not been authorised, said the 15 men were detained yesterday and early today on suspicion of being involved in the attacks, which were Egypt’s deadliest ever.

The officials said one man was detained inside Sharm on Wednesday and was believed to be a government employee hailing from the Nile Delta city of Menoufia.

No details were available on the role the man is suspected of playing in the attacks while it was unclear exactly where the other 14 were detained around Sharm, which is located at the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula.

But Egyptian police forces, backed by Bedouin guides, were searching desert and mountain areas for potential suspects on Wednesday.

Police have also said that they are searching for at least 15 people - including Bedouin tribesmen and other Egyptians – for possibly playing a role in the Sharm and with links to last October’s attack on two other Sinai resorts farther north that killed 34 people.

It was unclear if any of the 15 detained were among those being sought in relation to the attacks on the Ghazala Gardens Hotel, a nearby car park and taxi stand, and an area popular with Egyptians called the Old Market about two miles away.

Police said at least 300 people have been taken in for questioning but are not believed to have played any role in the attacks.

Hospital officials in Sharm initially said the blasts killed 88 people, but the Egyptian Health Ministry has said only 64 have been confirmed dead.

Today, a hospital official said there are still at least 11 bags containing body parts that have not been identified and DNA tests are underway on those remains.

Saeed Abdel Fattah, manager of the Sharm El Sheikh International Hospital where the victims were taken, said among the 64 confirmed dead by the Egyptian Health Ministry are 38 Egyptians, five Italians, four Turks, one American and one Czech. At least 15 people are unidentified.

British authorities have also confirmed one Briton was killed and 10 are missing. Italy’s Foreign Ministry has also said four Italians are missing and feared dead. Turkish authorities have said three Turks were killed while one remained missing.