Egyptian authorities have arrested five men for helping the car bombers who killed at least 33 people at Egyptian Red Sea resorts frequented by Israelis on 7 October.
The authorities have also identified the four bombers and said they believe that two of them, a Palestinian and a Sinai beduin, died by accident in the explosion at the Taba Hilton hotel.
An interior ministry statement on Monday named two other men, also Sinai beduins, as the suspected bombers of the two beach camps south of Taba. A security official said the police were still looking for them.
The statement said the main planner and organiser of the attacks was Iyad Said Salih. It said he was a Palestinian driver from the North Sinai Egyptian town of al-Arish who had allegedly shown signs of religious extremism.
Palestinian-Israeli conflict
Salih and his companion, Sulayman Ahmad Salih Fulayfil, are alleged to have driven their vehicle to the Taba Hilton and planned to run away before it exploded. But the timer was badly set and the explosion took place before they had time to leave.
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Israel quickly blamed al-Qaida
for the Red Sea atrocities |
"It (the bombings) was a reaction to events in the occupied (Palestinian) territories and targeted the Israelis staying at the hotel and the two camps," it added.
Salih and his companions are said in the statement to have stolen three cars and rigged them up with explosives extracted from old munitions found in the desert, and used washing-machine parts to make timers.
The Israeli authorities said at the time they suspected al- Qaida was behind the attacks. The Egyptian government said that was jumping to conclusions, and they suspected a link with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.