15 killed by suicide bus bomber

A SUICIDE bomber blew himself up aboard a crowded bus in the northern city of Haifa in Israel yesterday, killing at least 15 people and injuring dozens in the first terrorist attack in two months, officials said.

The blast ripped off the roof of the number 37 bus, strewing wreckage and body parts across the street.

Witnesses said the explosion occurred just after the bus stopped in the hilltop neighbourhood of Carmelia at about 2.17pm.

Officials said because of the hour, the bus would have been packed with students from the nearby University of Haifa.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast, which comes as Israel’s new hardline government is pressing ahead with a two-week-old offensive against Hamas militants in Gaza, and as the Palestinian Authority is considering far-reaching reforms.

In the past, Israel has reacted with tough military measures after such attacks and has blamed Yasser Arafat, saying the Palestinian Authority does nothing to prevent terrorism.

“Once again the bestial hand of Palestinian terrorism has struck at the heart of Israel,” said Mark Sofer, a Foreign Ministry spokesman, Palestinian Cabinet minister Saeb Erekat condemned “any attack that is targeting civilians, whether Palestinian or Israeli”.

But he added: “We reject the Israel government finger-pointing that the Palestinian Authority is responsible.”

Haifa police chief Yaacov Borovsky said the explosion was caused by a suicide bomber, and police sources said at least 15 people were killed.

Avi Zohar, a rescues services spokesman, said there were “dozens of casualties”, among them at least two dozen seriously injured.

Some of the wounded were being treated at the scene, and others were evacuated.

Ovadia Saar, who was driving another bus just behind the one that was attacked, said he saw “the back of the bus fly into the air, and the windows blew out and a great cloud of dust covered the bus.

“I got out and ran toward the bus. It was a horrible sight. There were a few bodies in the street,” he said. “Those we saw breathing we evacuated.”

The blast left the bus a skeleton of charred and twisted metal. Cars parked nearby were also damaged in the blast, and some passers-by were among the injured.

Israeli police went on alert throughout the country amid warnings more attacks were planned, reports said.

The Haifa blast was the first terror attack in Israel since January 5, when a pair of suicide bombers killed 23 people in Tel Aviv.