At least 17 people have been killed and more than 150 injured by three bombs which ripped through a hotel, market and restaurant in Dahab, a popular diving and surfing resort on Egypt's Sinai Peninsula.
The blasts went off in rapid succession, causing devastation in el-Mabat, a laid-back district popular with Western backpackers.
Dr Said Essa, who runs the region's medical emergency team, said that 17 people had been killed and 150 injured at the el-Khaleeg Hotel alone. Witnesses reported seeing body parts strewn across the road outside a restaurant also targeted in the co-ordinated bombings.
The Reuters news agency quoted a witness saying that smoke was also rising from the old market area of the town, which is north of Sharm el-Sheikh on the east coast of the peninsula.
The explosions were said to have occurred at shortly after 7.15pm local time (6.15pm BST) today, which is a holiday across Egypt. Police confirmed that that more than 20 ambulances had been despatched to the scenes.
"There is smoke coming from the area and there are people running everywhere," said the witness, who did not want to be named.
One visitor said that cars and buses leaving the resort were being stopped by police. "There were body parts and debris in the street ... There are ambulances and cars taking people to hospital," said another resident.
Paul McBeath, a British toursit, told Sky News that the explosions had come with: "no warning whatsoever". He described widespread damage, adding: "There were just three loud bangs and people rushing around. Everybody is shaken."
A Interior Ministry official confirmed there had been explosions but said he had no further information. "There were explosions but the picture is still not clear," he said.
Dahab is known as the Goa of the Red Sea due to its bohemian lifestyle, multi-cultural beach restaurants, relaxed attitude to cannabis use and growing tourist trade.
Last July, at least 60 people, including foreigners, were killed and more than 200 were wounded when two car bombs and a suitcase ripped through hotels and shopping areas in the Egyptian diving resort of Sharm el-Sheikh in Sinai.
At least 30 people were killed in a series of attacks on Egyptian resorts near to the Israeli border in October 2004.
In a wide-ranging audio-taped message broadcast by al-Jazeera on Sunday, Osama bin Laden attempted to justify terror attacks on Western civilians by arguing they were as responsible as their governments for the "Zionist crusaders’ war against Islam".
"While the war continues, the people renew their allegiance to their rulers and politicians and continue to send their sons to our countries to fight us," he declared. "They send their sons to armies to fight us and they continue their financial and moral support while our houses are bombed and our people are killed."
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