A rchive Date
[ 10-04-2002 ]
Category
[ International Relations ]
sub-Categoy
[ Israel ]
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[http://canoe.ca/CNEWSTopNews/bus_apr10-ap.html
Suicide bomber blows up Israeli commuter bus
JERUSALEM (AP)
A suicide bomber with explosives strapped to his body blew up a crowded bus during morning rush hour Wednesday, killing at least eight people and wounding 14 others, police and medics said.
Israeli TV and radio stations said at least 10 people were killed in the explosion near the northern port city of Haifa. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.
One witness, identified only by his first name, Motti, told Israel Radio that he was driving about 60 feet behind the bus when he heard the explosion and saw the bus fly 6 to 10 feet into the air.
"It's a catastrophe. Shrapnel and bits are everywhere," Motti said. "You have no idea what it is to see such a thing ... people are thrown in all directions."
Rescue workers arriving moments later covered several bodies lying on the asphalt with white sheets and blankets. Personal belongings were strewn on the highway, including an olive jacket normally worn by soldiers, a skullcap and identity papers. The 7:15 a.m. blast punched a large hole through the roof of the front of the bus, which was resting on the side of the highway, its wheels blown off.
The area's police chief, Yaakov Borovsky, said the suicide bomber wore an explosives belt and detonated it shortly after boarding the bus. Borovsky said more than eight people were killed. Israeli TV and radio reports put the number of dead at 10, but it was not immediately clear if that included the assailant.
The bus was traveling an express route from Haifa to Jerusalem. The explosion went off near Kibbutz Yagur, a communal farm just east of Haifa and about 15 miles from the West Bank.
It was the second major suicide bombing since Israel launched a military offensive in the West Bank on March 29. The campaign is aimed at crushing Palestinian militias that have carried out a series of shooting and bombing attacks on Israeli civilians in the past 18 months.
Arieh Mekel, an Israeli government spokesman, said the bombing was a sign that the Palestinians were intent on disrupting a new peace mission by Secretary of State Colin Powell, who is to arrive in the region Thursday.
David Baker, a spokesman for the prime minister's office, said that "apparently the Palestinian terrorists' appetite for terror has yet to be quenched."
There was no immediate comment from the Palestinian Authority.
The last major bombing, also in Haifa, went off March 31 when a suicide bomber blew himself up in a crowded restaurant, killing 15 people.
 World Fact Book (CIA)]
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