Egypt Probing Link Between Arrested Al Qaeda Members and Sinai Bombing
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

CAIRO, Egypt – Egyptian authorities are investigating whether 17 suspected Al Qaeda members arrested while illegally entering Libya are connected to last week’s coordinated bombings at Sinai tourist resorts that killed 34 people, an Egyptian official said yesterday.
Egypt has asked the Libyan government whether the suspected terrorists were arrested after the October 7 attacks, the official said on condition of anonymity.
Libya’s Interior Ministry announced the arrests Sunday, three days after car bombs blew up at the Taba Hilton and two bungalow campgrounds an hour’s drive south, killing Egyptians, Israelis, Italians, and Russians.The ministry did not elaborate on the arrests or the suspects, except to say they were from the Indian subcontinent and Central Asia.
Also, a fourth separate claim of responsibility for the attacks was posted on the Internet yesterday by a group identifying itself as “Muhammed’s Army – The Military Wing of the Palestinian Resistance.” None of the four claims have appeared particularly credible.
The latest claim appeared on a Web site known for its violent Islamic content that has been used in the past to post claims of various attacks.
“We announce our full responsibility for the heroic operation…that targeted a hotel in Taba where Israeli Mossad (in telligence agents) and Americans were meeting,” said the statement, which contained several simple Arabic grammar mistakes.
It said the perpetrators fled the scene after “kidnapping a number of Zionists from Sinai who were taken to safe areas” to negotiate for the release of Palestinian Arab prisoners in Israel. It also threatened to attack Israel with “unique” missiles but did not elaborate.
The group said the delay in announcing the claim was because of “the Egyptian army’s pursue of the holy warriors.” Muhammed’s Army is unknown in Palestinian Arab territories, but groups by the same name reportedly have operated in Iraq, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia.
The Iraqi Muhammed’s Army is believed to consist of former members of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein’s security services.
Three other previously unknown groups also claimed responsibility, including the Brigades of the Martyr Abdullah Azzam, which said it was affiliated with Al Qaeda; the Tawhid Islamic Brigades; and Jamaa Al-Islamiya Al-Alamiya, or World Islamist Group. No group offered details of how it carried out the attack.
A senior Egyptian Interior Ministry official said yesterday that investigators have learned more about how the attackers arrived at their targets, but he would not be more specific.