Suspects in Cairo Blast

April 8, 2005 --

Death Toll from Cairo Bazaar Bomb Rises to Three
A bomb in a Cairo bazaar popular with tourists killed a U.S. citizen, a Frenchwoman and a man who was probably the bomber, Egyptian officials said on Friday. (Reuters)

Two Suspects Arrested
Two suspects who may have been involved were arrested after the blast yesterday, Al Akhbar repots. The owner of a small motorcycle that was parked close to the scene and another person are being detained and a number of witnesses are being questioned. The security forces are also after a number of other suspects who may have escaped to southern Cairo and the district of Helwan. (Al Akhbar)

Bomb Was "Very Primitive"
The bomb that was used in yesterday's attack on the Bazaar in Cairo was a "very primitive" type according to Egyptian Tourism Minister Ahmed Al Maghrebi. The semi-governmental Egyptian Al Ahram and Al Akhbar newspapers report that the small bomb was locally made and stuffed with nails. Al Maghrebi suggested the attack may have been planned and carried out by one person. (Elaph, Al Ahram, Al Akhbar)

Egypt On Edge After Deadly Cairo Blast
Security was tighter than ever around Egypt's main tourist sites, a day after a bomb in Cairo's old bazaar killed at least two foreigners and raised the spectre of a fresh wave of terrorist attacks. (AFP)

Analysis: Cairo Blast Not Accident
Four people were killed and 18 others wounded in a deadly blast in the Egyptian capital on Thursday, which analysts say was not an accident but a sabotage aimed at Egypt's social stability and national economy. (Xinhuanet)

Egyptians Shocked In Blast Aftermath
A bomb attack in a thriving commercial hotspot in Cairo has shocked and angered Egyptians who had come to believe violence in their ancient city had been effectively dealt with in the 1990s. (Al Jazeera)

Stratfor: Premium Global Intelligence
A motorcyclist reportedly hurled a bomb at a tour group in Cairo's Old Quarter bazaar, killing two people (an American and a French citizen) and injuring nearly two dozen other tourists and nationals. The attack, not associated to any known terrorist groups, is the first in a seven year lull. It comes at a crucial time for the democratization of Egypt, with presidential elections this Fall and President Hosni Mubarak's twenty year regime being tested by recent demonstrations of allied Islamist and Secular oppositions groups, under the umbrella organization "Kifayah" (Enough), as well as a call from senior judges to separate the executive and judicial branches of government so as to ensure fair elections in the Fall and fair trials for accused suspects. Heavily dependent on U.S. financial and military aid, Mubarak's regime has come under increasing pressure from Washington to democratize. His answer in Febuary was to allow multiple (pre-approved) candidates to run for president. These attacks will force Washington to take a milder approach, as they provide a pretext for Mubarak to keep his strong grip on the country and for his emergency laws to remain in place in this time of insecurity. (Stratfor Weekly)

See the Site of the Explosion (BBC)

Two Teen Girls In Custody After Bomb Plot Is Feared

Two 16-year-old girls have been detained since last month on immigration violations amid concerns that they were potential recruits for a bomb plot that never materialized, officials said Thursday. (AP)

C.I.A. Chief Orders 'Curveball' Review
Porter J. Goss, the director of central intelligence, has ordered an internal review to resolve conflicting claims about why the Central Intelligence Agency did not do more to raise doubts about an Iraqi defector known as Curveball after the German intelligence service questioned his credibility, according to intelligence officials. (NY Times)

U.S. Unready For Rising Threat of 'Moles'
A recent report on US intelligence harshly critiqued counter-spy efforts. (CS Monitor)

U.N. Orders Extensive Hariri Probe

The U.N. Security Council has ordered an international inquiry into the killing of former Lebanese PM Rafik Hariri. (BBC)

Japan Seeks Information On Qadeer's N. Korea links

Japan's foreign minister has asked officials in Islamabad for information about Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan's links to North Korea, a Japanese official said on Thursday. (Hi Pakistan)

Administration Urges Appeals Court to Let Guantánamo War Crimes Trials Resume

A senior lawyer in the Bush administration urged a federal appeals court on Thursday to allow the resumption of war crimes trials in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, as part of the effort to defend against terrorists. (NY Times)

An Old U.S. Foe Rises Again in Iraq
Shiite Mahdi Army Growing Bolder in South. (Washington Post)

Iraq Is Becoming 'Free Fraud' Zone
Corruption in Iraq under U.S.-led CPA may dwarf U.N. oil-for-food scandal. (CS Monitor)

Abu Ghraib Officers Claimed They Were Scapegoats
Documents show that three who served at the prison said they were unfairly singled out. (LA Times)

Falluja Residents Return To City
About half the population of the Iraqi city of Falluja have returned to their homes in the five months since a major US offensive there, officials believe. (BBC)

Army May Shorten Tours in Iraq and Afghanistan
Anticipating progress toward curbing insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Army may cut in half the yearlong tours of duty in the two nations that have strained an already stretched service, a senior Army general said Thursday. (LA Times)

Toward a Multiethnic Future
IT has taken a long time but the naming of a new Iraq prime minister and selection of a new president by the new Parliament represents a significant step on the country's progress toward a new multiethnic future. (Arab News)

No News Is Good News
The Pentagon often whines about how the U.S. media only harp on the negative in Iraq. But there's some cheery, morale-building news about military-media relations in a recent internal Army study of its operations in the region around Mosul. (Washington Post)

The Trouble With Nailing Terror Suspects
Another terror trial without a hard conviction this week has illustrated once more the difficulties the German judiciary has in putting terror suspects behind bars. But some experts say prosecutors are learning. (Deutsche Welle)

Iran: Nuclear Negotiations and Presidential Elections
The majority of the Iranian people were unaware of what happened in the negotiations between their government and the Europeans regarding the Iranian nuclear file, because the local papers were not published due to the Iranian Norouz Holiday. (Al Hayat)