At least 23 people are reported to have been killed and about 60 injured after three bombs exploded yesterday in the Egyptian coastal resort of Dahab, in the Gulf of Aqaba.

Photo: Mark Brill

The bombs went off early in the evening in two restaurants on the seafront promenade, and in one of the small Bedouin town's shopping streets.

According to British media reports this morning, all the dead are thought to be Egyptians, bar three foreign nationals who include a boy from Germany. Three Britons are reported to be among the injured.

Casualties have been transported to the nearest large town of Sharm el Sheikh and, in some cases, flown to Cairo.

No group has yet claimed responsibility for the bombings, and it is not clear whether the attack involved suicide bombers or planted devices.

An on-site correspondent told the BBC that the bombs are thought to have been relatively simple devices. Immediate reaction, he said, was that the bombings were the work of local Sinai-based militants, perhaps inspired by, but not necessarily acting on orders from, al-Qaeda.

Egypt's Minister of Tourism told the BBC that it was "premature" to try to conclude who was responsible for the attack. He said that the first priority was to ensure the best medical treatment for those injured in the blasts.

The British Ambassador to Egypt confirmed to the BBC that British citizens were being treated for injuries. Asked whether he knew of their condition, he replied that it will be for doctors to report, but that he believed they were not critically hurt.

The attack follows two other sets of bombings carried out in Egypt within the past 18 months, at Sharm el Sheikh and Taba. Despite these, Egyptian tourism is reported to have been increasing by about a million visitors a year, and recently to have created some 200,000 new jobs.

Dahab, a relatively low-key resort situated on the edge of the Sinai desert, is popular with divers for its fine coral reefs, accessed easily from the shore and varied in depth from 10-60m.

*People concerned about any Briton thought to have been in Dahab at the time of the bombings can call the British Foreign Office casualty information line 020 7008 0000.

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