CNN: Nazif: Too early to link Sharm,Taba blasts to Al Qaeda

Egypt's Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif said on Sunday it was too early to say that the recent terrorist attacks in Sharm El- Sheikh were the work of al-Qaida network.

Speaking to CNN'S Late Edition program, Nazif said Egypt had been a target for earlier terrorist attacks that were not linked to al-Qaida.

"If these attacks turn out to have been carried by al-Qaida this would be a new thing in Egypt. "

The Prime Minister cited similarity between the Sharm and Taba blasts with the terrorists using booby-trapped cars in their attacks.

Premier Nazif said the perpetrators of the Sharm el-Sheikh terrorist attacks must have needed contacts with some Bedouins in Sinai, an assumption that is being looked into.

He said that Egyptian tribes in Sinai have relations with Arabs living in Palestine and dealings with Israel.

Others, he added, lead simple lives in mountains and inaccessible areas. Some of them have played a part in the Taba bombings in October, Nazif said.

He added that the remnants of criminals hunted by security forces might have regrouped and carried out the grisly bombings in Sharm el-Sheikh.

Nazif said most of the Sinai Bedouins are peaceful people, asserting that the government is working to improve their social and economic living standards.

But some Bedouins are ostracized and have rebelled against their tribal traditions, joining gangs and living in isolation in mountains, he said.

Most of these outcasts are aged between 18 and 20 and have a tendency to commit such criminal acts, said the Prime Minister.

Nazif further reiterated that there is no evidence yet that Al-Qaeda was involved in Sharm El-Sheikh and Taba attacks.

He said tourism is one of Egypt's key income earners and Sharm El-Sheikh is one of the world's leading resorts.

The Egyptian tourism industry has shown an ability to swiftly take such strikes into its stride.