[3] A leaflet was discovered stuffed into his body that read "no to tourists in Egypt" and was signed "Omar Abdul Rahman's Squadron of Havoc and Destruction—the Gama'a al-Islamiyya, the Group".

One of the terrorists was wounded in the subsequent shootout and the rest fled into the hills where their bodies were found in a cave, apparently having committed suicide together.

[6] One or more al-Jama'a al-Islamiyya leaflets were found calling for the release of Omar Abdel-Rahman from a U.S. prison,[7][8] stating that the attack had been carried out as a gesture to exiled leader Mustafa Hamza,[9] or declaring: "We shall take revenge for our brothers who have died on the gallows.

[citation needed] The massacre marked a decisive drop in terrorists' fortunes in Egypt by turning public opinion overwhelmingly against them.

[19] Organizers and supporters of the attack quickly realized that the strike had been a massive miscalculation and reacted with denials of involvement.

Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman blamed Israelis for the killings, and Ayman Zawahiri maintained the attack was the work of the Egyptian police.