EGYPT: Cairo bomb witness recalls terrifying scene
About 33 feet separated Amr Hassan, a theater director, from death in Sunday’s bombing in old Cairo -- the capital's first deadly terrorist attack in three years.
“I had a rehearsal right behind al Hussein mosque," Hassan said in an interview today. "I was waiting for the executive director in front of the mosque so we could go together to rehearsal. I was standing [about 33 feet] away from the blast.
“The minute the bomb exploded, we heard a terrifying noise and a blue oracle covered the place. A minute earlier, I saw a beggar. ... The beggar was terribly injured and he had definitely died. I saw his body thrown [about 13 feet] into the air. Everybody rushed; tourists were terrified, they were running in all directions. Victims were lying on the ground with injuries to faces and legs.
"The police were watching a football game on TV at coffee shops when the explosion happened. The timing must have been well calculated [by the perpetrators]; the police were very relaxed ahead of the bombing."
The bombing that rocked the Khan el Khalili bazaar, one of Cairo’s most famous tourist sites, left one French woman killed and 24 injured, according to Egyptian health ministry officials. Three suspects have reportedly been arrested. No group has claimed responsibility.
There were conflicting reports on the reason behind the explosion. Some reports claimed that a bomb was thrown from the top of a building while others said that the explosion occurred when a bomb hidden beneath a stone bench was detonated. Hassan found the latter account more conceivable; however, he believed the death toll was higher.
“I don’t think the bomb was thrown from the top because we would have noticed it before it hit the ground," he said. "I don’t think there was only one killed. ... The beggar’s body was lying right next to the French woman who was killed. I saw the police telling the rescuers to remove the woman’s body first. We as Egyptians are always left behind; were not they both victims? Why would the police remove the body of one and wait on the other?"
-- Noha El-Hennawy in Cairo
Photo: Egyptian security personnel use a metal detector to search the tourist area of Khan el Khalili in Cairo. Credit: Agence France-Presse
Police in Egypt dont talk about the American whose throat was slashed days after the incident either. Sometimes the best information is strait from the mouths who saw it. The suspects were egyptian and the man who cut the American's throat was egyptian.
The real issue is not the police because they cant always stop these things, they happen too fast.
As an American resident in egypt ive noticed a real hatred towarde the "all too free foreigners". Can people begin to solve the problem by understanding it rather that trying to figure out who dunnit.
Political bombings are one thing but the recent acts at Hussein are targeted towards foreigners and nothing else.
Posted by: Laurie | February 28, 2009 at 03:45 AM
As an Egyptian I have to say one thing I never get is why some witnesses to such incidents rarely give the same or close accounts? We in Egypt joke about it that there's a general tendancy to exxagerate.
Not one single report including that coming from indi and international press mentioned another body. Al Hussein area is always very busy that means that if there was in fact another body others would have seen it. And not in defence of the police which I think they lack any type of proper training, this area has a lot of police resepnce. Also, ppl need to be more vigilent about bags left behind there are not normal times. Finally, when will we see proper crime profiling capabilities from the police and national security. Almost every major case turns out to be a major mystery that remains unsolved or as revealed in court the police framed someone. The Beni Mazar brutal killings are still a huge mystery
Posted by: Egygirl | February 26, 2009 at 10:13 PM
"The beggar’s body was lying right next to the French woman who was killed. I saw the police telling the rescuers to remove the woman’s body first. We as Egyptians are always left behind"
I beg to differ, It goes to show you that even in death, beautiful women are more coveted than men, ask any undertaker!
Posted by: Joe | February 23, 2009 at 04:31 PM
this is so sad...i love that place..it is such awonderful place to feel the real identity of egypt specifically and middle east in general...fuck the terrorists !!...i hope you all will burn in hell...
Posted by: kareem | February 23, 2009 at 12:33 PM