Blast Kills 1, Injures 20 In Cairo Marketplace
|
TOOLBOX
   Resize
COMMENT
 Discussion Policy
 CLOSE
Comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.
Who's Blogging  |
Monday, February 23, 2009
CAIRO, Feb. 22 -- An explosion Sunday targeting a bazaar popular with tourists in the Egyptian capital killed a French citizen and wounded at least 20 people, authorities said.
The attack at the Khan el-Khalili market in central Cairo alarmed locals and foreigners who regard the capital as a safe city in a volatile region.
The blast occurred about 6 p.m., sending tourists and worshipers who had been praying at nearby mosques running for cover.
"It was so, so big," shopkeeper Hassan Hussein, 23, said of the blast, which he heard from his shop about half a block away. "It made the floor shake. So many people were running. People were running out, police were running in."
An Egyptian official briefing reporters at the scene Sunday night said militants lobbed a grenade from a hotel facing the main plaza of the market, wounding at least 20 people. Later reports suggested the explosion was caused by a homemade bomb planted under a bench. Authorities said they neutralized a second, unexploded device found nearby.
The Egyptian Health Ministry said a French woman was killed in the attack. Thirteen French citizens, three Saudis, three Egyptians and a German were among the wounded, officials said.
Egyptian officials did not identify suspects or say whether they took anyone into custody. Egypt battled Islamist militants in the 1990s and into this decade, but few terrorist attacks have been carried out in the country in recent years.
A suicide bomber targeted Khan el-Khalili in April 2005, killing 21 people, including an American and two French citizens. Another attack that year in Sharm el-Sheikh, a resort town on the Sinai Peninsula, killed more than 60 people.
Egyptian police cordoned off the scene with yellow tape Sunday night and dispatched teams of forensic investigators and prosecutors to interview witnesses and examine evidence.
Hundreds of tourists visit Khan el-Khalili and nearby mosques every day. Cafes with outdoor patios and merchants selling gold and silver jewelry have made the bazaar, or souk, among the capital's top attractions.
Crime targeting foreigners in Egypt is rare because authorities generally punish such offenses severely.
The attack startled expatriates in Cairo.
