Tourists injured as suicide bombers strike in Cairo

Three people were killed and at least seven others, including four tourists, were injured in two attacks in Cairo yesterday - casting a shadow over Egypt's recovery as a prime holiday destination.

Three people were killed and at least seven others, including four tourists, were injured in two attacks in Cairo yesterday - casting a shadow over Egypt's recovery as a prime holiday destination.

A bomb in central Cairo, close to the famous Egyptian Museum, killed an Egyptian man, apparently the carrier of the explosives, and injured seven others. The casualties were three Egyptians, an Israeli couple, an Italian and a Swede.

In a separate attack less than two hours later, two women died, apparently at their own hands, after firing on a tourist bus in southern Cairo, and missing their target.

An Egyptian Interior Ministry statement identified the man killed in the explosion as Ehab Yousri Yassin, who was being pursued as a suspect in connection with a suicide bombing on 7 April, which killed two Frenchmen, an American and the bomber himself. The authorities said the man jumped from a bridge during the pursuit, setting off the explosives as he did so.

In the second incident, the Interior Ministry said that two veiled women, identified as Yousri's sister Negat Yousri and girlfriend Iman Ibrahim Khamees, had opened fire on a tour bus. Negat then shot and wounded her companion and committed suicide. Khamees died in hospital.

Two militant groups posted web statements, claiming responsibility for the twin attacks - the Mujahedeen of Egypt and the Abdullah Azzam Brigades, which said the violence was in revenge for a wave of mass arrests following bomb attacks at two Sinai resorts in October which killed 34 tourists.