2009 Khan El-Khalili Bombing
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The 2009 Khan el-Khalili bombing was a terrorist attack that took place at 6:30 p.m. local time on 22 February 2009 in
Khan el-Khalili Khan el-Khalili ( ar, خان الخليلي) is a famous bazaar and souq (or ''souk'') in the historic center of Cairo, Egypt. Established as a center of trade in the Mamluk era and named for one of its several historic caravanserais, the b ...
, a '' souq'' in eastern
Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...
,
Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
, killing a 17-year-old French teenager and injuring 24 other people. It was the first of the
February 2009 Cairo terrorist attacks The February 2009 Cairo terrorist attacks were three incidents that took place in Cairo, Egypt from 22 February 2009 to 28 February 2009. Of three attacks, only the first was fatal, resulting in the death of a 17-year-old French people, French tee ...
.


Attack details

The attack took place just after dark in front of a cafe crowded with people gathering to watch a televised
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
match. There were conflicting reports that the bomb was thrown from a balcony or from a
motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising ...
, but security officials reported that the bomb had exploded under a bench in a garden in the square. A second bomb failed to detonate and was defused. The bombs weighed and contained nails and metal fragments. A 17-year-old French girl, who was among a group of 54 teenagers from
Levallois-Perret Levallois-Perret () is a commune in the Hauts-de-Seine department and Île-de-France region of north-central France. It lies some from the centre of Paris in the north-western suburbs of the French capital. It is the most densely populated ...
near
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
, was killed. Seventeen French, one German and three Saudi tourists, as well as three
Egyptians Egyptians ( arz, المَصرِيُون, translit=al-Maṣriyyūn, ; arz, المَصرِيِين, translit=al-Maṣriyyīn, ; cop, ⲣⲉⲙⲛ̀ⲭⲏⲙⲓ, remenkhēmi) are an ethnic group native to the Nile, Nile Valley in Egypt. Egyptian ...
, were wounded. Early reports suggest the explosive devices were "primitive".


Responsibility

According to security sources, there was no immediate claim of responsibility by any militant group, but three suspects had been taken into custody.


Reactions

Then French President
Nicolas Sarkozy Nicolas Paul Stéphane Sarközy de Nagy-Bocsa (; ; born 28 January 1955) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2007 to 2012. Born in Paris, he is of Hungarian, Greek Jewish, and French origin. Mayor of Neuilly-sur-Se ...
and then Prime Minister
François Fillon François Charles Armand Fillon (; born 4 March 1954) is a retired French politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 2007 to 2012 under President Nicolas Sarkozy. He was the nominee of the Republicans (previously known as the Union ...
condemned the attacks. The attack has raised fear of the return of the Islamic militants groups to target Egypt's tourism industry. The attacks were also speculated to be linked to anger over Egypt's role in the Gaza conflict. The bombing caused concern for Cairo authorities, who saw the tourist industry devastated by bombings and shootings by Islamic militants in the 1990s. Hotels' revenues and occupancy rates fell resulting in the dismissal of workers.


See also

* 2004 Sinai bombings *
April 2005 Cairo terrorist attacks The April 2005 attacks were three related incidents that took place in the city of Cairo, Egypt, on 7 April and 30 April 2005. While the first killed three bystanders, the latter two incidents are generally considered to have been minor, in that ...
* 2005 Sharm el-Sheikh attacks * 2006 Dahab bombings *
February 2009 Cairo terrorist attacks The February 2009 Cairo terrorist attacks were three incidents that took place in Cairo, Egypt from 22 February 2009 to 28 February 2009. Of three attacks, only the first was fatal, resulting in the death of a 17-year-old French people, French tee ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Khan El-Khalili Explosion, 2009 Terrorist incidents in Egypt in 2009 Improvised explosive device bombings in Egypt 2000s in Cairo Crime in Cairo 2009 murders in Egypt Attacks in Egypt in 2009