Egypt bomber group says they were targeting Jews

For some reason, a major part of the message from the group claiming responsibility for the Sharm el-Sheikh bombings is not being reported by the news media.

Dubai - An unknown group calling itself Mujahedeen Egypt has claimed the deadly triple bombings in Sharm al-Sheikh and given the names of five "martyrs" who allegedly died carrying out the attacks.

Its claim, which included a warning for Jews to leave Egypt, followed a statement from a group calling itself the al-Qaeda Organisation in the Levant and Egypt which said it carried out the bombings that killed 88 people.

The Mujahedeen Egypt statement posted on an Islamic website and dated July 23, the day of the attacks, mentioned seven bombings. Initial police reports also mentioned seven blasts.

"Your brothers in the Mujahedeen Egypt carried out the blessed earthquake in Sharm al-Sheikh," the group said in a statement which was not on usual sites used by Islamist militant groups to make announcements.

"Do not believe what is being said about the claim made by al-Qaeda, may God protect it," it said.

The group said the five "martyrs" carried out seven bombings against hotels and tourist buses used by "Zionists."

"As long as the Zionists do not get out of the land of the Muslims, they will be digging their own graves with their own hands," it said.

The statement identified them as Faisal Khalil, Hassan Abi Rawa, Mohamad Abdel Majid, Nader Mohamad Abdel Ghani and Mohamad Hammoudi al-Masri, said to be the son of the general common with a booby-trapped car that targeted the Ghazala Gardens in Naama Bay which is a resort crowded with Jews, and the hotel was totally destroyed," it said.

"The second (explosion) targeted the old commercial centre area with a second booby-trapped car.

"After 15 minutes, five explosions occurred, three of them with booby-trapped cars and two of them with explosive charges that targeted Jewish hotels and tourism buses."

A second statement by the same group, dated from Sunday, said the five men drove "one local car, three others from abroad and a bus".

It also gave "not more than 60 days for the Zionist Jews to get out of Egypt or else you will see what you have never even seen it in your dreams," said the statement posted on the same Islamic website.