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Letter bombs shake Egypt's confidence
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January 17, 1997
Web posted at: 9:00 p.m. EST (0200 GMT)CAIRO, Egypt (CNN) -- A spate of letter bombs to the offices of Arabic language newspaper al-Hayat in the United States and England has forced Egyptian security officials to re- examine their belief that they had suppressed extremism in their country.
Egypt has waged a long-standing and sometimes ruthless campaign against Islamic extremists, and for the most part it has been effective. Thousands have been arrested on suspicion of having participated in violent acts, and dozens have been hanged.
Egyptian streets are peaceful, and analysts say that the network once controlled by cleric Omar Abdel Rahman, imprisoned in the United States, has been all but crushed.
"The government is correct in saying that the militants' activities have been greatly reduced," says political analyst Mustafa Sayyid.
Nevertheless, the letter bombs that appeared at al-Hayat offices in Washington, London and at the United Nations in New York were postmarked in Alexandria, Egypt.
Not everyone believes extremists have finished
Egyptian authorities, ever sensitive to international opinion, denied immediately that they could have been mailed from Alexandria even before the government had a chance to examine the evidence. And, indeed, there is no evidence that they were mailed by religious militants.
But the incidents have forced the government to re-evaluate, and perhaps heed warnings from people like Kamal Abdel Magd, the country's former Youth Minister.
"I'm always warning against claiming that everything is taken care of and that it is finished irreversibly," Magd says. "You can never claim that."
And while the government may indeed be re-examining the case, it is not clear how open it is to correction.
The Middle East News Agency reported Friday that the letter bombs may have been sent by Egyptian radicals living abroad.
Security officials say extremists lack know-how
It claims the letters were aimed at damaging the reputation of the Egyptian security agencies and to turn British and American authorities against it. The report also indicated that the United States has not yet allowed Egyptian officials to inspect the postmarks on the packages.
But Egyptian security officials again denied that the bombs could have originated in Egypt, saying Egyptian militants in Egypt don't have the expertise or the materials to produce letter bombs.
Correspondent Gayle Young contributed to this report.
Related stories:
- Fourth letter bomb found at U.N. - January 14, 1997
- Third letter bomb found at U.N. - January 13, 1997
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