A statement from the department said: 'We continue to receive reports that terrorists are planning attacks on a range of targets, including places frequently visited by foreigners, such as resorts and hotels. In Egypt, such attacks could occur at any time and anywhere.' Specifically mentioned is Sharm el-Sheikh, a resort on the Red Sea.
Israeli security services were the first to raise the alarm last week, announcing possible imminent terrorist attacks at the resorts of Taba, Dahab and Sharm el-Sheikh in the southern part of Egypt's Sinai Peninsula. Hundreds of Israeli tourists have already left the area. Their flight-like departure was spurred by an Egyptian police report that they are searching for five terrorists in possession of explosives. Confessions to this effect were given by other arrested militants, allegedly linked to Al-Qaeda. After that, police patrols in tourist areas were tripled, anti-terror units and additional ambulance teams appeared.
The adoption of emergency security measures in Sinai was preceded by six explosions that occurred in four Turkish cities, including the Mediterranean resorts of Antalya and Marmaris. As a result of the terrorist attacks, for which Kurdish extremists claimed responsibility, three Turks were killed and more than 60 people were injured, a third of whom were foreign tourists, including two Russians.
In Egypt's southern Sinai, since 2004, bombings prepared by Islamists have killed 125 people, mostly tourists. Taba was attacked in 2004, and Sharm el-Sheikh in 2005. In Dahab in April of this year, three almost simultaneous explosions (pointing to the 'authorship' of Al-Qaeda) killed 24 people, including six foreigners.