TERRORISM Israel: Al-Qaida bombed resorts

Apparently, three car bombs were detonated.
TABA, Egypt (AP) -- Israel's intelligence chief blamed Al-Qaida for the bombings at resorts in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula that officials said killed at least 28 people, including many Israelis celebrating a Jewish holiday, and wounded more than 100.
Israeli and Egyptian rescuers dug through the debris of the Taba Hilton -- the site of the biggest blast, where at least four people were believed still buried after the bomb sheared off the outer rooms of a 10-story wing. Two smaller blasts quickly followed in Ras Shitan, a camping area near the town of Nuweiba, 35 miles south of Taba.
Thousands of frightened Israeli tourists rushed back home, streaming into Eilat, just across the border, today. Many complained bitterly that Egyptian authorities prevented tourists from leaving the resorts after the blasts and delayed them at the border.
The Israeli intelligence chief, Maj. Gen. Aharon Zeevi-Farkash, blamed the bombings on Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaida terrorist network at an emergency Cabinet meeting. Egyptian government spokesman Magdy Rady said it was too early to speculate.
Fighting terrorism
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's office said he and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak agreed by telephone that they must fight terrorism together.
At the Hilton, Israeli military rescuer Gefan Naty told The Associated Press it was unlikely any more survivors would be found. "I don't believe anyone is still alive. We just pulled out one child," about 10 years old, who was dead, Naty said.
Sinai's resorts were particularly crowded Thursday, the last day of the weeklong Jewish festival of Sukkot, when thousands of Israelis vacation there.
The most devastating of the bombings was at the Hilton, where a car laden with explosives crashed into the lobby and detonated, an Israeli official said on condition of anonymity. There were reports of a second or third explosion in the compound, one of which may have been a suicide bomber.
South Sinai Gov. Mustafa Afifi said there were three car bombs -- one at the Hilton and two at Ras Shitan. He added that an Egyptian security guard got suspicious and tried to stop one of them at the camping area.
"In Ras Shitan, one of the cars was intercepted, so it blew up away from" the lodgings, Afifi said. He did not elaborate.
Scene at the Hilton
At the Hilton, the burned-out shell of a vehicle rested inside a meeting room.
Sheets and blankets tied to the Hilton's balconies showed the frantic efforts by guests to flee. Stairs of a fire escape were twisted perpendicular to the building. Business cards, CDs, bottles and cans, and personal items were scattered around. Burned cars sat outside the hotel.
There were varying reports on casualties.
Yair Naveh, commander of Israel Defense Forces Home Front, told Israeli radio that 28 people were confirmed dead. The Egyptian Interior Ministry said 22 died.
An official at Taba hospital, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AP 24 people were killed, including five Israelis, seven Egyptians and the rest foreigners whose nationalities were not immediately determined. Most of the deaths were at the Hilton. Israel radio reported 14 of the dead were Israelis.
The injured
More than 100 people were injured, with one report saying as many as 160, and at least two Britons were among the wounded. The Russian Foreign Ministry said an elderly Russian woman was among the dead and eight Russians were wounded.
"A few" Americans staying at the hotel were slightly injured, said John Berry, a spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Cairo.
Meir Frajun told of his frantic search for his three children, who were playing one floor below the lobby when the blast occurred. At first, he found only two.
"Everything was filled with smoke," Frajun told the AP after crossing into the nearby Israeli resort of Eilat. "We were hysterically looking for the child. In the end, we found him sitting outside with an Arab guest of the hotel."
Amsalem Farrag, whose uncle and cousin own camps in Ras Shitan, said the two blasts there were only five seconds apart. He said the camps were full of vacationing Israelis.
Political attacks
Egypt's tourism minister, Ahmed El Maghraby, indicated the attacks were political: "Look at the timing. Look at the choice of place."
He didn't elaborate, but other officials drew links to the Israeli military operation against the Palestinians in the neighboring Gaza Strip, where more than 80 Palestinians have been killed in an Israeli offensive that began Sept. 29.
Israel's deputy defense minister, Zeev Boim, told Israel's Army Radio that Palestinian militants apparently were not involved and he suspected Al-Qaida affiliates: "On the face of things, this is different from what we are familiar with from Palestinian terrorist groups."