From the AP:
17 Dead at Just 1 Hotel After Egypt Blasts 1 minute ago
Three explosions rocked the Egyptian resort city of Dahab at the height of the tourist season Monday night, killing at least 17 people and wounding more than 150 at just one hotel, according to the doctor who runs Egypt's Sinai Peninsula rescue squad.
Dr. Said Essa said he was headed to the scene of the blasts and that his casualty figures were for victims at the el-Khaleeg Hotel only. He said there were casualties from the other explosions but he had no details.
Al-Jazeera television said one of the blasts hit a restaurant, and authorities said more than 20 ambulances and police cars were rushing to the el-Masbat section of the city.
There have been a string of attacks in Egypt's Sinai peninsula over 18 months. They included al-Qaida-style bombings in the Egyptian resorts of Taba and Ras Shitan in October 2004, killing 34 people, and in Sharm el-Sheik in July 2005, killing 63.
Groups claiming links to al-Qaida took responsibility for those attacks, and Egyptian authorities say new Islamic militant groups have arisen in the peninsula — but they are still trying to determine if they have any real connection to al-Qaida or other international terrorists.
This is high tourist season in the region, and hotels all along the Egyptian coasts could be expected to be at near capacity. Dahab is located on the Gulf of Aqaba on the eastern side of the Sinai Peninsula.
Ping