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| Africa North |
| Egypt: Islamist groups condemn Cairo attacks |
| 2009-02-25 |
| (AKI) - The banned Egyptian Islamist movement, the Muslim Brotherhood, and its extremist offshoot Gamaa Islamiya on Monday condemned the bomb attack that killed a French tourist and injured more than 20 others in a bustling Cairo market at the weekend. Brotherhood chairman Mahdy Akef called the bombing a "despicable violent act". "These actions are against humanity and these bombings have nothing to do with a religion that respects human life no matter what religious background or ethnicity the person might be," he said. The Brotherhood's parliamentary bloc also released a statement in which it "expressed its strong and total rejection to all acts of armed violence, no matter what motives or objectives it has." The bloc urged officials to investigate who was behind this criminal act and to bring those responsible to a fair trial. It also demanded the protection of Egypt and Egyptians from evil. "These types of attacks are banned by Sharia (Islamic law). Islam rejects them because they damage Muslims. It is not fair to kill defenceless civilians, whether they are Egyptians or foreigners," said Gamaa Islamiya's leader Naji Ibrahim, quoted by Egyptian daily al-Masriyoun. The blast at Cairo's crowded Khan al-Khalili market killed a young French tourist and injured at least 20 others on Sunday. It was the first attack targeting tourists in Egypt for three years. Police said three terror suspects were detained and several witnesses were being questioned about the blast. The bombing occurred at an open air hotel cafe packed with tourists in the market which is near the 12th century al-Husseini mosque. The wounded included three Saudis, 13 French, a German and four Egyptians, the government statement said in a statement. There was speculation that the attack was linked to anger over the recent Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip and Egypt's role in seeking a long-term truce in the region. However, no group has claimed responsibility for the attack. |
| Posted by:Fred |