WASHINGTON, July 26: The United States has said that it is not in a position to say who might have caused last Saturday’s resort bombings in Egypt but is ready to help Egyptian authorities in finding those responsible for the blasts. Scores of people were killed in the blasts that targeted Egypt’s popular tourist resort of Sharm el-Sheikh which attracts a lot of Western and Israeli tourists.

“With regard to responsibility, I don’t think the Egyptian government has come out and made any pronouncements on that, so I am going to refrain from speculating about who may or may not be responsible,” said State Department spokesman Sean McCormack.

“I have seen the reports of various groups who have put up claims of responsibility on their website. I am not in a position to comment on them,” he added.

Mr McCormack said President George W. Bush had spoken with President Hosni Mubarak and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had spoken to Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit, offering US assistance to the Egyptian government ‘in whatever ways that they see fit, whatever assistance that they need.’

The United States, he said, also had offered to provide ‘any assistance … on the law enforcement or the intelligence front.’ Mr McCormack confirmed that one US citizen, Kristy Miller, was killed in the blasts but there were no other US casualties.