World leaders condemn Sinai attacks

One of the wounded is rushed to hospital after arriving by helicopter in Beersheva in southern Israel yesterday. The unidentified man was wounded in a blast that ripped through Hilton hotel in the Red Sea resort of Taba in Egypt's Sinai peninsula late Thursday. PHOTO: AFP

German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and France's President Jacques Chirac were among the first to issue condemnations.

Speaking from Hanoi where they were attending a Europea-Asia conference, both called for a united front against terrorism.

"There is no other solution to peace in the Middle East than what is laid out in the roadmap for peace. Despite all this brutality we have to continue to pursue this goal," Schroeder said.

The attacks underscored the need for a united front, he said, adding: "We, as the international community, must fight terrorism wherever it occurs."

Three suspected car bombs ripped through beach resorts packed with Israeli tourists on the Red Sea coast of Egypt's Sinai desert late Thursday.

France, like the entire international community, "condemns these barbaric acts of terrorism and joins in the mourning of the Israeli people," Chirac said in a message to Israeli President Ariel Sharon.

In another message to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Chirac condemned "these terrorist acts, which once again have claimed innocent victims".

An early condemnation came from Russia, one of whose citizens was among the victims.

"The news of the beastly terror acts in Egyptian cities ... have deeply shaken me," President Vladimir Putin said, urging solidarity, consolidation and coordination by the international community.

One Russian died and eight were injured in the blasts in Egypt, a popular holiday destination for Russians.

In London, British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw expressed shock.

"I offer my sympathies to the families and loved ones of those who have died and to those who have been injured," he said.

"We are in close touch with the Egyptian and Israeli authorities. Staff from the British Embassy in Cairo are on the ground providing consular assistance.

"We invite all regional countries to cooperate against terrorism."

In Gaza City, a spokesman for the hardline Islamic Jihad group denied Palestinian militant groups had carried out the attacks.