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Bomb attacks in Egyptian resort Sharm Al-Sheikh - 23rd July, 2005
The bombings happened at the height of the summer tourist season in Sharm al-Sheikh, and coincided with an extended holiday weekend to mark the anniversary of the 1952 Egyptian revolution
The blasts came within minutes of each other, shortly after 0100 local time (22 July 2200 GMT), when the bars and markets were busy.
At least 88 people have been killed in bomb attacks in the Egyptian resort of Sharm al-Sheikh, hospital staff say. Some 200 more were injured in the overnight blasts. Most of those who died were Egyptian, although at least eight foreigners were killed.
In the most devastating attack, a bomber rammed his car into Ghazala Gardens Hotel, according to an eyewitness.
"A suicide car bomber forced the barrier at the entrance of the hotel. A member of the security staff tried to stop him but he sped towards the reception and there was a huge explosion," an unnamed hotel employee told AFP news agency.
Parts of the front walls of the hotel collapsed, trapping people under the rubble.
A few hundred metres away, a bomb went off in a car park near the Moevenpick Hotel and popular nightlife spots, causing widespread damage and casualties.
In the Old Market area blast, about 4km (2.5 miles) away, 17 people - believed to be Egyptian workers - were killed as they gathered at a street cafe, rescue officials said.
In a statement posted on an Islamic website, a group calling itself the Abdullah Azzam Brigades, al-Qaeda, in Syria and Egypt, said it carried out the bombings, the AP news agency reported, although the claim has not been verified.
Speaking after touring the bomb sites, President Mubarak said the "cowardly, criminal act" would "only increase our determination in chasing terrorism, cornering it and uprooting it".
"Our battle with terrorism will continue with all the strength, resolve and will that we have," he added.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, on a visit to neighbouring Israel, denounced "the horrific terrorist bombings". She vowed that Egypt and the US would "confront and defeat this scourge that knows no boundary and respects no creed".
It was the first such attack since October 2004, when 34 people died in car and truck bomb attacks at Red Sea resort of Taba on the eastern coast of the Sinai Peninsula.
The previous worst attack in Egypt occurred in 1997, when Islamic militants killed 58 foreign tourists and four Egyptians near the southern city of Luxor.
Tourism is Egypt's most lucrative industry, worth about $6.6bn a year.
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