US embassy cable - 05CAIRO3184

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 CAIRO 003184 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
NEA FOR DAS DIBBLE AND NEA/ELA 
DS FOR JOE MORTON AND FOR DSS AND DS/IP/NEA 
ALSO FOR CA AND S/CT 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PTER, ASEC, PREL, CASC, KCRM, EG, EAC meetings, Explosion, Terror attacks, Bombing 
SUBJECT: EGYPT:  EAC MEETING FOLLOWING APRIL 30 SUICIDE 
BOMBING AND SHOOTING INCIDENT IN CAIRO 
 
REF: A. CAIRO 3183 
     B. CAIRO 2956 
     C. CAIRO 2898 
     D. CAIRO 2799 
     E. CAIRO 2773 
     F. CAIRO 2745 
     G. CAIRO 2744 
     H. CAIRO 2743 
 
1.  (U) This message is sensitive but unclassified, please 
handle accordingly.  Not for Internet distribution. 
 
2.  (SBU) On May 1, the Charge d'Affaires convened post's 
Emergency Action Committee to review details of the April 30 
suicide bombing in downtown Cairo and shooting incident (ref 
A), as well as to evaluate the Mission's security posture and 
appropriate Consular response.  Attending the meeting were 
RSO, ORA, CONS, DAO, OMC, CLO, DEA, LEGAT, ECPO, RMO, NAMRU, 
PAO, MSG, MGMT, and USAID. 
 
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Evaluating the Facts of the April 30 attacks 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
3.  (SBU) Opening the meeting, the Charge and RSO reviewed 
the latest information concerning the nature of the April 30 
incidents.  In the first incident, an Egyptian male was 
killed by a bomb he was carrying.  The male has been 
identified by Egyptian security contacts as Ehab Yousry 
Yassin Ali, sought in connection with the April 7 bombing in 
the Khan El Khalili bazaar.  (Note.  This individual was 
misidentified in an earlier government statement and in ref A 
as "Ihab Idris."  End note.)  Seven individuals near him 
(including four foreign tourists) were injured.  The GOE 
reports that the bomb detonated when the bomber jumped from 
an overpass onto Abdel Moneim Riyad Square near the Egypt 
Museum.  In the second, apparently related, incident, two 
women were killed in a shooting.  The details of the second 
incident near the Citadel remain vague;  the two women 
(according to press reports the sister and fiance of the 
April 30 suicide bomber) may have fired on a tourist bus with 
a handgun.  They were then shot by police or, according to 
another account, one woman shot the other and then herself. 
Reports indicate that both women died as a result of the 
incident, one at the site of the attack and the other later 
at a local hospital.  Both events occurred near popular 
tourist sites in Cairo. 
 
4.  (SBU) The RSO made clear that many details of the day's 
events, including motives and intentions, remain unclear and 
under investigation by Egyptian authorities.  There are 
strong indications that the April 30 incidents are related to 
the April 7 bombing at the Khan Al Khalili bazaar and that 
the individuals involved in both attacks are closely linked. 
Police are still reportedly searching for the brother of the 
April 30 bomber who has been identified as Mohamed Yousry 
Yassin Ali.  Press reports have also referred to an 
accomplice driver, still at large, for the two women killed. 
There are also reports that another member of the cell, 
captured earlier on April 30, told police that the cell had 
prepared other bombs. 
 
5.  (SBU) According to the Egyptian Minister of Health, two 
Israelis, one Italian, one Swede, and three Egyptians were 
wounded in the incident near the Egypt Museum, none fatally. 
The Italian Embassy reported that their citizen is in stable 
condition after initial surgery to remove schrapnel from the 
explosion.  She is being transported to Italy in the coming 
day or two to undergo a more sensitive operation to remove 
debris from her neck.  The presence of nails removed from the 
victims and the site of the April 30 attack indicate a 
similarly constructed device as that used April 7.  There are 
no reports of American citizens involved in the April 30 
incidents. 
 
6.  (U) Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif sought to allay 
fears of a possible resurgence in Islamic extremist violence 
April 30, commenting publicly his view that the latest 
attacks "did not represent a pattern."  Nazif stated that he 
was "positive our society and the security services are able 
to maintain security and safety."  Later the same day, both 
the Sheikh of Al Azhar and the Egyptian Grand Mufti condemned 
the attacks, describing them as criminal, loathesome acts. 
The Muslim Brotherhood also issued a condemnatory statement 
April 30. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
Evaluating the Consular Response and Travel Warning 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
7.  (SBU) The Charge sought comments on the appropriate 
Embassy response following the April 30 attacks, referring to 
the April 7 attack as well as the experience of the 
mid-1990's in Egypt when tourists and tourist sites were 
specifically and repeatedly targeted by militant groups. 
Consular noted that the Embassy switchboard and consular duty 
officer had not received an unusual level of calls or 
inquiries related to the April 30 incidents, possibly due to 
the absence of so many expatriates from Cairo over the local 
four-day holiday weekend.  The EAC discussed the tenor and 
content of warning language for an updated Embassy warden 
notice.  All agreed that repeated terror incidents in the 
space of a few weeks merited a clear warning to Americans 
considering travel to Cairo. 
 
8.  (SBU) The EAC engaged in considerable discussion on the 
nature of the threat and the appropriate reaction.  The group 
weighed the unsophisticated nature of the April 7 and April 
30 attacks against the uncertainty regarding how successful 
the GOE has been in eliminating the cell involved and the 
possibility of copycat attacks or attacks by members of this 
group who may remain at large.  The EAC agreed that new 
travel advisory language should reference the regional Middle 
East travel warning already in place and that Aemricans 
should be warned to avoid crowds and tourist sites for the 
next four weeks.  The group decided not to change the 
current, already heightened, security posture for the 
official Embassy community. 
 
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Next Steps 
---------- 
 
9.  (SBU) The Embassy will review all sources of information 
on the threat to tourists and will convene additional EAC 
meetings as appropriate.  The warden system will be reviewed 
for its effectiveness, and the embassy website will post any 
new travel advisory information.  The Charge closed the 
meeting noting that the EAC would need to be vigilant in 
reviewing the security situation for upcoming visits of 
American officials and events involving the American 
community. 
 
-------------------- 
Draft Warden Message 
-------------------- 
 
10.  (U) On May 1, Post delivered the following notice to 
American citizens registered at the Embassy and also posted 
the notice on the U.S. Embassy website.  Begin text of notice: 
 
Warden Notice: 
 
On Saturday afternoon, April 30th, there were two deadly 
attacks in Cairo that resulted in serious injury to tourists. 
 One was a bombing just north of the Egyptian Museum and the 
other a shooting near the Citadel.  Seven people (including 
foreign tourists) were injured in the first attack, and all 
three assailants in the two attacks are reported to have 
died.  No Americans were injured in either of the two 
attacks, both of which occurred adjacent to tourist areas. 
 
The Government of Egypt believes that both attacks were 
linked to the April 7 bombing in the Khan El Khalili bazaar 
that killed four, including an American.  The Egyptian 
Government further believes that the three incidents were 
carried out by one small and unsophisticated terror cell that 
has almost been eliminated.   It is difficult for the U.S. 
Government to independently assess the Egyptian Government,s 
claim concerning the viability of this terror cell. 
 
All U.S. citizens are strongly advised to consider avoiding 
tourist areas in Cairo until the threat environment becomes 
clearer.   U.S. citizens should not linger amidst crowds of 
tourists in public areas.  In line with the Middle East and 
North African Public announcement, Americans should continue 
to be exceedingly careful and maintain a heightened awareness 
of their surroundings.  Any suspicious behavior should be 
reported to authorities.     The Embassy intends to review 
this advice on May 15, 2005 or before if additional 
information becomes available. 
 
As the U.S. Government develops information on any potential 
security threats to U.S. citizens overseas, it shares 
credible threat information through its consular information 
program documents, available on the Internet at 
http://travel.state.gov.   For further information, U.S. 
citizens may call the Embassy,s American Citizen Services 
Unit on 797-2301 during business hours, Sunday to Thursday 
from 8:00 a.m. until 4:30 p.m.  For emergencies after 
business hours and on weekends, U.S. citizens can contact the 
Embassy Duty Officer via the Embassy switchboard on 797-3300. 
 The Embassy is located at 5 Latin America Street, Garden 
City, Cairo.   General information about Egypt is available 
at the Embassy,s website www.usembassy.egnet.net.  The most 
recent State Department Worldwide Caution Public 
Announcement, and Middle East and North Africa Public 
Announcement contain additional security information.  These 
documents can be found at www.travel.state.gov. 
 
Finally, all residents of and visitors to Egypt are urged to 
register their presence via the Internet 
athttps://travelregistration.state.gov/ibrs/h ome.asp to 
facilitate communications. 
 
End text of message. 
 
 
Visit Embassy Cairo's Classified Website: 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/cairo 
 
You can also access this site through the 
State Department's Classified SIPRNET website. 
 
CORBIN