Here's where I got the 100 number from:CAIRO, Egypt - Three explosions rocked the Egyptian resort city of Dahab at the height of the tourist season Monday night, killing at least 18 people and wounding more than 150 at just one hotel, according to the doctor who runs the Sinai peninsula rescue squad.
Dr. Said Essa said he was headed to the scene of the blasts and that his casualty figures were for victims at the el-Khaleeg Hotel only. He said there were casualties from the other explosions but he had no details.
Al-Jazeera television said one of the blasts hit a restaurant, and authorities said more than 20 ambulances and police cars were rushing to the el-Masbat section of the city.
Terrorist attacks have killed nearly 100 people at several tourist resorts of Egypt's Sinai region in the past two years.
Bombings in the resorts of Taba and Ras Shitan, near the Israeli border, killed 34 people in October 2004. Last July, suicide attackers in the resort of Sharm el-Sheik killed at least 64 people, mainly tourists.
The Egyptian government has said the militants who carried out the bombings were locals without international connections, but other security agencies have said they suspect al-Qaida.
This is high tourist season in the region, and hotels all along the Egyptian coasts could be expected to be at near capacity, mainly with Europeans, Israelis and expatriates living in Egypt.
In Israel, the country's rescue service said it had raised the alert level. Israeli Channel 10 TV reported that Israel had closed the border crossing at Taba, preventing vehicles from entering Sinai. It said a stream of Israeli vehicles were leaving Sinai.
Many Israelis travel to the Sinai for beach holidays.
Israel's ambassador in Cairo, Shalom Cohen, told Channel 10 there were three explosions in a hotel, a police station and a marketplace.
"We don't know of Israelis" who were hurt, he said, though some Israelis were known to be in Dahab.
Cohen said the best thing Israeli tourists in Sinai could do now would be to "go home."
He said there have been repeated warnings from the Israeli government against visiting the Sinai Desert, where Israelis have been targeted in attacks in the past.
"Unfortunately, the warnings came true," he said.
The Israeli rescue service, Magen David Adom, offered help through the International Red Cross and the Egyptian Red Crescent but has not received a reply, the service said in a statement.
It said about 20 ambulances were standing by at the Taba crossing between Israel and Egypt if needed.
Dahab is located on the Gulf of Aqaba on the eastern side of the Sinai Peninsula and is about 65 miles south of Taba, near the border at the southern tip of Israel. Dahab is 200 miles southeast of Cairo.
Both cite the same source (the doctor in the Sinai Rescue Squad) so I would assume (hopefully) that the second source just misinterpreted him.Three explosions rocked the Egyptian resort city of Dahab on Monday night, and there were at least 100 dead or wounded, according to the doctor who runs Egypt's Sinai Peninsula rescue squad.
Dr. Said Essa said he was headed to the scene of the blasts, one of which hit the el-Mashrabiyah Hotel.
Police officials said more than 20 ambulances and police cars were rushing to the el-Masbat section of the city.
Dahab is located on the Gulf of Aqaba on the eastern side of the Sinai Peninsula
And here's another article from Haaretz:
Three explosions rocked Egypt's Sinai resort town of Dahab on Monday night, leaving at least 30 people dead and 160 wounded.
One blast hit a hotel, a second a restaurant and the third explosion rocked the resort town's market area about 7:15 p.m. local time (1715 GMT). Egyptian authorities said the blasts were likely not caused by suicide bombers but rather bombs that had been planted.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility.
Dr. Said Essa, head of the Egyptian rescue forces in the region, said at least 17 people were killed at the el-Khaleeg Hotel alone.
An official with the local ambulance service said many of the dead appeared to be foreigners but there were no immediate reports of any Israeli casualties.
Rescue forces in the southern Israeli city of Eilat are on highest alert and are prepared for an evacuation of wounded Israelis back north across the border.
Magen David Adom emergency medical services said is has about 20 ambulances were standing by at the Taba border crossing between Israel and Egypt if needed.
MDA offered rescue assistance to its Egyptian counterpart through the International Red Cross and the Egyptian Red Crescent but has not received a reply, the service said in a statement.
Eilat's hospital is calling on people to donate blood.
Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz ordered the Israel Defense Forces to offer rescue and medical assistance to Egypt. There was no immediate response to the offer. The IDF moved into a higher state of alert and rescue and medical units in the Homefront Command increased their level or readiness.
Channel 10 TV reported the IDF had closed the Taba crossing, preventing vehicles from entering Sinai. It said a stream of Israeli vehicles were leaving Egypt.
"We don't know of Israelis" who were hurt, Israel's ambassador to Egypt, Shalom Cohen, told Channel 10, though some Israelis were known to be in Dahab.
This is high tourist season - part of a five-day Egyptian holiday - and hotels all along the Egyptian coasts could be expected to be at near capacity.
"There is smoke coming from the area and there are people running everywhere," said a witness, who did not want to be named.
Body parts and debris were seen in the streets after an explosion in a tourist restaurant, other residents said. One visitor said 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 who also did not want to be named.
Dahab is located on on the Gulf of Aqaba on the eastern side of the Sinai Peninsula. Monday is part of a five-day spring holiday in Egypt.
Cohen said the best thing Israeli tourists in Sinai could do now would be to "go home."
Cohen said there have been repeated warnings from the Israeli government against visiting the Sinai Desert, where Israelis have been targeted in attacks in the past.
"Unfortunately, the warnings came true," he said.
There have been a string of attacks in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula over the past 18 months, including deadly Al-Qaida-style bombings in the Egyptian resorts of Taba and
Ras Shitan in October 2004 and in Sharm el-Sheikh in July.
Groups claiming links to Al-Qaida took responsibility for those attacks, and Egyptian authorities say new Islamic militant groups have arisen in the peninsula - but they are still trying to determine if they have any real connection to al-Qaida or other international terrorists.
