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Egypt police round up militants after massacre

CAIRO: Egyptian police rounded up suspected Moslem militants in shantytowns around Cairo in an attempt to identify the gunmen who massacred 18 Greek tourists outside a Cairo hotel, a government newspaper said on Friday.

The police carried out raids on militant hideouts in the districts of Birka, Talibiya and Boulak al-Dakrour, all of which are close to the scene of Thursday's attack on the road to the Giza Pyramids, said the newspaper al-Ahram.

It did not say how many people they detained and gave no indication the police were closer to tracing the perpetrators. The Interior Ministry said it was checking the report.

The newspaper said the gunmen probably belonged to the Gama'a al-Islamiya, the largest organisation fighting to overthrow the government and set up a strict Islamic state.

The four gunmen opened fire into the group of Greek tourists outside the Europa Hotel on Thursday morning, killing 18 of them and wounding 15 people - 14 Greeks and their Egyptian driver.

Government newspapers mentioned in passing the possibility that the gunmen might have mistaken the Greeks for Israelis and that the motive for the attack might be revenge for more than a week of Israeli attacks in south Lebanon and around Beirut.

Tourism Minister Mamdouh el-Beltagi said: "Tourism is going through a boom and the terrorists wanted to stop this as part of their plan to fight the Egyptian people through (attacks on) their livelihood, security and stability."

The lead editorial in the government newspaper al-Akhbar said the attack showed that Egypt's Muslim militant groups had lost hope of success and were striking out at random.

"The aim of these 'bats of darkness' is to strike at Egypt's future, to strike at every Egyptian's right to live in peace and stability. Perhaps Egypt's success at economic reform and the revival of the tourist industry are reasons why they have reared their heads again," it added.

"The aim is to hit the economy. They want to bankrupt and destroy Egypt but they will not achieve that, however many bombs they throw," said veteran columnist Mustafa Amin.

Commentator Galal Douidar said foreign radio stations had pressed him on Thursday to link the attack on the Greeks with events in Lebanon. "My answer was that there may be some truth in this but the truth will come only from the efforts of the police and investigations of the judiciary."-Reuter