Press Speculates About Cairo Blast
Syria Media Report, 02-March-09
Press Speculates About Cairo Blast
Syria Media Report, 02-March-09
Egyptian security services and Israel’s national intelligence agency may have played a role in last month’s bombing at a Cairo market, said a report on pro-government website Al-Jamal.
The crude bomb, which exploded on February 22, killed a French teenager and injured 24 others at the famous Khan el-Khalili bazaar in the Egyptian capital, according to a report by Egyptian authorities.
Security officials in the country told Egypt’s official Al-Ahram newspaper that they believe the blast was carried out by a few individuals with “extremist tendencies”.
Acknowledging that an extremist group may have been directly responsible for the attack, the website went on to say that Mossad, the Israeli national intelligence agency, could have encouraged the assault in an effort to increase hostility towards the Islamist Palestinian group Hamas.
Another possibility, according to the website, is that the Egyptian security services planned the bombing to shore up support for Eygptian president Hosni Mubarak and justify his actions toward Hamas.
Mubarak was heavily criticised in Syria and elsewhere over his refusal to open the Rafah border crossing into the Gaza Strip during the recent Israeli military offensive. His position was seen by many as helping to complete an Israeli blockade of the territory.
