Report: Egypt Resort Bombers Fled Before Blasts

CAIRO, Egypt – The attackers in three explosions on Egypt's Sinai Peninsula (search) last week all fled minutes before their vehicles blew up, Egypt's biggest newspaper reported Wednesday, contradicting reports that suicide bombers carried out the attacks.

None of the four attackers has been apprehended, Al-Ahram reported for Wednesday editions.

It said the truck that struck the Taba Hilton (search) hotel, the deadliest of the coordinated attacks, contained 1,100 pounds of TNT hidden under crates of vegetables.

The bombs used at Ras Shitan (search) to the south — one in a Peugeot 504 car and another in a Nissan pickup truck — both contained a more volatile explosive that is less common in Egypt, Al-Ahram said.

The report in the pro-government newspaper cited a senior official familiar with the findings of interior ministry investigators.

Israeli officials earlier said they believed all three bombings were suicide attacks.

The three explosions killed at least 34 people, including Egyptians, Israelis, two Italians and a Russian, as well as others whose nationalities have yet to be determined. They came at the end of a Jewish holiday, when thousands of Israelis were vacationing in the area.

The newspaper said two attackers drove the truck to the Taba Hilton, parked it and fled two minutes before it exploded. The driver of the Peugeot entered a parking lot outside a camp of bungalows and fled on foot three minutes before it detonated, it said.

The driver of the Nissan was running late, the newspaper said — implying but not saying that the bombs were set on timers. It said the driver abandoned the car just outside the targeted camp and fled on foot.

All three vehicles carried Egyptian license plates, the newspaper said, adding that the Peugeot had plates from central Egypt, while the others had local Sinai plates.

The newspaper said evidence pointed to involvement by Usama bin Laden's Al Qaeda terrorist network, because of the large quantity of explosives and the training needed to use them and determine where to place them for maximum destruction.

It said the attacks bore similarities to explosions in Turkey and Indonesia last year.

Israel and the United States have said Al Qaeda is likely responsible for the attacks, while Egypt has been more cautious in assigning blame.