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 22 Feb Cairo bomb blast kills French tourist
A bomb explosion in Cairo today killed a French tourist and injured about 17 other people, mostly foreign tourists, according to reports in Egypt.
Reports said the explosion took place at an open-air cafe packed with tourists in the historic Khan al-Khalili area - a major attraction and home to a prominent mosque.
The device was apparently thrown from a balcony, police say. Initial reports had suggested it had been lobbed from a motorbike. There has been no indication so far of who is behind the attack.
Police said those injured in the "relatively small" blast included 10 French nationals, four Germans and three Egyptians.
The French foreign ministry confirmed the death of one of its citizens, without giving any details of the victim. The ministry said eight French nationals were injured in the attack.
The explosion happened near the Hussein mosque and a well-known bazaar.
The area has now been sealed off as bomb disposal experts were sent in to defuse a second device which failed to explode.
"The blast was so powerful that the earth shook underneath us," an eyewitness told Egypt's Nile News TV.
"We all lay down on the ground. Blood was streaming from the back of one of the people running away from the blast. I even saw a separated hand and an arm. Just shredded human flesh," the witness said.
The Khan al-Khalili area was targeted in 2005, when three people - including an American and a French tourist - were killed in a blast.
Analysts said Sunday's explosion would be of huge concern to Egypt's security services, and could also hit the tourism market which contributes a large slice of the country’s foreign currency earnings.
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