The April 2005 attacks were three related incidents that took place in the city of

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 ...

, 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 they caused no loss of life other than those of the perpetrators and appear not to have been planned in advance. Neither sophisticated methods nor sophisticated materials were used in the incidents, and the Egyptian authorities have consistently described the attacks as "primitive".

First incident: Khan el-Khalili

On Thursday, 7 April 2005, a

suicide bomber A suicide attack is any violent Strike (attack), attack, usually entailing the attacker detonating an explosive, where the attacker has suicide, accepted their own death as a direct result of the attacking method used. Suicide attacks have oc ...

detonated an explosive device on Sharia al-Moski in

Islamic Cairo Islamic Cairo ( ar, قاهرة المعز, lit= Al-Mu'izz's Cairo), also called Historic Cairo or Medieval Cairo, refers generically to the historic areas of Cairo, Egypt, that existed before the city's modern expansion during the 19th and 20th ce ...

, near the

al-Hussein Mosque The Imam Hussein Mosque ( ar, مسجد الإمام ٱلحُسين) or Jame Sayyidna Husayn ( ar, جامِع سيّدنا ٱلحُسين) is a mosque and mausoleum of Husayn ibn Ali, originally built in 1154, and then later reconstructed in 1874. ...

and

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 major souq popular with

tourists Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mo ...

and

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 ...

alike. Three foreign tourists (two French and one

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

) Alex Merandette)were killed, and 11 Egyptians and seven other overseas visitors were injured. Egyptian police identified the bomber as Muhammad Sobhi Ali Jidan, originally from

Qalyubia Governorate Qalyubia Governorate ( ar, محافظة القليوبية ' ) is one of the governorates of Egypt. Located in Lower Egypt. It is situated north of Cairo in the Nile Delta region. Its capital is Banha. Name Name of Qalubiyya governorate is driv ...

in northern Egypt, but then living in the north Cairo district of

Shobra Shoubra ( ar, شبرا, ; Coptic: '; also written Shubra or Shobra) is one of the largest districts of Cairo, Egypt and it is administratively divided into three areas: Shubra, Road El Farag, and Elsahel. Etymology Although Shoubra has been i ...

Second incident: The Sixth of October Bridge

The first of a number of attacks on Saturday, 30 April took place at 15h15 Egypt summer time (12h15 UTC) in a city bus station located in a 300-metre-wide concourse between the Ramses Hilton Hotel and the

Egyptian Museum The Museum of Egyptian Antiquities, known commonly as the Egyptian Museum or the Cairo Museum, in Cairo, Egypt, is home to an extensive collection of ancient Egyptian antiquities. It has 120,000 items, with a representative amount on display a ...

near Cairo's main traffic intersection. Ehab Yousri Yassin, an Egyptian man suspected of involvement in the 7 April attack, was being pursued along the Sixth of October Bridge, a flyover leading into centre of Cairo from the

River Nile The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered the longest rive ...

island of Gezira. He apparently leapt from the bridge down into the bus station below, with a

nail bomb A nail bomb is an anti-personnel explosive device containing nails to increase its effectiveness at harming victims. The nails act as shrapnel, leading almost certainly to more injury in inhabited areas than the explosives alone would. A nail ...

that he was carrying detonating as he fell. The bomber was killed and seven passersby were injured: three Egyptians and four foreign tourists (an

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

i couple, an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

woman, and a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

Third incident: The Citadel

Approximately two hours later the same day, two veiled females armed with guns opened fire on a tourist bus in the neighbourhood known as

, not far from the

Citadel A citadel is the core fortified area of a town or city. It may be a castle, fortress, or fortified center. The term is a diminutive of "city", meaning "little city", because it is a smaller part of the city of which it is the defensive core. In ...

. After firing on the coach, one of the women shot the other dead before turning her gun on herself. Three bystanders were reportedly injured. Police sources later revealed that the women were Negat Yassin, Ehab Yousri Yassin's sister, and Iman Ibrahim Khamis, his wife (described as his fiancée in some early reports). This was the first attack in modern Egyptian history to be carried out by women; police believe it arose from a spur of the moment decision taken by the women upon learning of the Sixth of October Bridge incident.

Casualties

Aftermath

Two groups claimed responsibility in the early evening hours, local time: the

Mujahedeen of Egypt ''Mujahideen'', or ''Mujahidin'' ( ar, مُجَاهِدِين, mujāhidīn), is the plural form of ''mujahid'' ( ar, مجاهد, mujāhid, strugglers or strivers or justice, right conduct, Godly rule, etc. doers of jihād), an Arabic term t ...

and the

Abdullah Azzam Brigades The Abdullah Azzam Brigades ( ar, كتائب عبد الله عزام), or al-Qaeda in Lebanon, is a Sunni Islamist militant group, and al-Qaeda's branch in Lebanon. The group, which began operating in 2009, was founded by Saudi Saleh Al-Qara ...

. In its statement, the latter group said the attacks were in retaliation for the government's clampdown on dissidents in the wake of the Sinai Peninsula bombings of October 2004. In the early hours of Sunday, 1 May, security forces arrested some 225 individuals for questioning, mostly from the dead three's home villages and from the area where they lived in

Shubra Shoubra ( ar, شبرا, ; Coptic: '; also written Shubra or Shobra) is one of the largest districts of Cairo, Egypt and it is administratively divided into three areas: Shubra, Road El Farag, and Elsahel. Etymology Although Shoubra has been im ...

. Particularly keenly sought was Muhammad Yassin, the teenage brother of Ehab Yousri Yassin, whom the police described as the only remaining suspect in the bazaar bomb attack and a material witness to the Saturday afternoon shooting. Muhammad was later extradited from

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...

. Over the course of the weekend, it also emerged that all three of the attackers involved in the attacks were relatives of Ashraf Said, a suspect in the 7 April bombing who was taken in for questioning and died in police custody on Friday, 29 April. On August 20, 2007, four suspects were sentenced to life in prison for their role in the attacks. Five others received shorter jail sentences. On March 9, 2007, one of the American victims published a book (The Only Road North) of his party's exploits in Africa which culminates in the tragic events of April 7, 2005.

References

External links

Cairo bombing claims third victim
(BBC News, 11 April)
Cairo tourists come under attack
(BBC News, 30 April)

(AP, via ''The Guardian)''

''(The Guardian'', 2 May)

''(Washington Post,'' 2 May) {{DEFAULTSORT:Cairo terrorist attacks, 2005 Spree shootings in Egypt Terrorist incidents in Egypt in 2005 Improvised explosive device bombings in Egypt 2000s in Cairo Crime in Cairo April 2005 events in Africa Suicide bombings in Egypt 2005 murders in Egypt 2005 murders in Asia Building bombings in Egypt Attacks in Egypt in 2005