Explosions in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh in the early hours of Saturday morning killed at least 20 people and wounded about 100, a rescue official said.
Police said the explosions were caused by four car bombs in Sharm el-Sheikh and the nearby resort of Naama Bay.
The explosions caused pandemonium in the resort as people rushed to go home for fear of more car bombs, said one resident, who asked not to be named.
The first explosion, shortly after 1 A.M., was audible more than 1 km (half a mile) away, a local resident said. It started a fire and smoke billowed over the town.
About 15 minutes later, more explosions were audible from the direction of Naama Bay, he said.
One blast hit the Ghazala Gardens hotel, a four-star resort on the main tourist strip in the Naama Bay area, witnesses said.
“The hotel was completely burned down, destroyed,” said Amal Mustafa, 28, an Egyptian who was visiting Sharm with her family and who drove by the Ghazala Gardens.
Naama Bay has dozens of luxury hotels popular with divers and holidaymakers from Europe.
Khaled Sakran, a Sharm resident, said he saw the first blast from the Old Market. “I saw the saw the fire in the sky,” he said. “Right after, I saw a light in the sky and heard another explosion, coming from Naama Bay.”
In October 2004, more than 30 people were killed, many of them Israeli, in explosions in Sinai resorts packed with Israeli tourists.
We’ll try to post more details as we get them. Hugh Hewitt is also updating this story on his radio show.
Update: The death toll’s up to at least 49 now. Glenn Reynolds and Gateway Pundit have details and thoughts.
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