1990 Cairo bus attack
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The Cairo bus attack was a terrorist attack on a bus carrying Israeli tourists in
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 ...
that occurred on February 4, 1990. The attack was claimed by two groups, an unknown group calling itself the 'Organisation for the Defense of the Oppressed of Egypts Prisons' which claimed to have done it to protest the torture in Egyptian prisons, and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Nine Israeli civilians were killed and 17 more were wounded with automatic fire and hand grenades. The attack was the worst on Israelis in Egypt since the two countries signed a peace agreement in 1979. Israel's minister
Ariel Sharon Ariel Sharon (; ; ; also known by his diminutive Arik, , born Ariel Scheinermann, ; 26 February 1928 – 11 January 2014) was an Israeli general and politician who served as the 11th Prime Minister of Israel from March 2001 until April 2006. S ...
said the
Palestine Liberation Organisation The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO; ar, منظمة التحرير الفلسطينية, ') is a Palestinian nationalist political and militant organization founded in 1964 with the initial purpose of establishing Arab unity and s ...
was behind the attack. Later, the Egyptian government announced that the attack had been plotted abroad and carried out by non-Egyptians.


The attack

On the day of the attack the bus had been travelling from Rafah on Egypt's border with the Israeli-occupied Gaza Strip to Cairo via the Suez Canal port city of Ismailia. On board were 31 Israeli academics and their families. As the bus neared one of Cairo's many commuter towns a white Peugot sedan swerved in front of the vehicle, causing it to stop. Three coaches of Royal Navy personnel from HMS Bristol, HMS Ariadne and HMS Minerva were following the Israeli bus and witnessed the attack. At this point several gunmen leapt out of the car and opened fire on the bus with assault rifles forcing the following buses to reverse back up the road. The attackers also threw 4 grenades, of which 2 exploded. The attackers drove off in their car.


Aftermath

The attack left 9 Israelis dead and 17 more wounded. 8 were killed outright while another died in hospital later that night. The casualties were initially taken to a hospital in the Cairo suburb of Heliopolis but were later transported by an Israeli military aircraft back to their home country. The Israeli Prime Minister
Yitzhak Shamir Yitzhak Shamir ( he, יצחק שמיר, ; born Yitzhak Yezernitsky; October 22, 1915 – June 30, 2012) was an Israeli politician and the seventh Prime Minister of Israel, serving two terms, 1983–1984 and 1986–1992. Before the establishment ...
told Israeli television that the attack was "serious and shocking" continuing on to say "This attack proves that hatred for Israel still exists and is running wild in the area". The
United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other n ...
called the attack a "horrible act of terrorism and said it was an obvious attempt by the enemies of peace to halt efforts at reconciliation and dialogue." File:1990 Cairo bus attack.jpg, Ambulances carrying the bodies of victims File:1990 Cairo bus attack 2.jpg, An Egyptian soldier at Cairo Airport guarding the Israeli transport plane that would fly the bodies of the victims home File:1990 Cairo bus attack 1.jpg, The coffin of a victim being unloaded at Cairo Airport


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cairo bus attack, 1990 Attacks on buses by Palestinian militant groups Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine attacks Terrorist incidents in Cairo Terrorist incidents in Egypt in 1990 Attacks on tourists Israeli people murdered abroad