Egyptian authorities have arrested five men in connection with a series of devastating bomb blasts in the Sinai peninsula earlier this month. More than 30 people were killed, most of them Israelis, when terrorists struck the Hilton Hotel in Taba and a backpackers campsite near Nuweiba.

The suspects in police custody are believed to have assisted the bombers. Two other men are also being hunted. Officials say the man who masterminded the blasts and a fellow bomber were killed when their car bomb exploded prematurely. The bombers struck on a Jewish holiday weekend, when many Red Sea resorts were packed with Israeli tourists. Russians, Egyptians and Italians were also among the dead. More than a hundred other people were injured. Israel initially suspected al Qaeda involvement, but Egyptian officials say the attacks were in response to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

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