Tel Aviv suicide blasts kill 15

TWO suicide bombers blew themselves up minutes apart last night in a central Tel Aviv area crowded with foreign workers, killing at least 15 bystanders and wounding nearly 40.

Islamic Jihad, a militant Palestinian group, claimed responsibility for the bombings the first such attack since November near Tel Aviv's former central bus station. The claim came in a phone call to the Lebanese TV station Al-Manar.

The bombings came three weeks before Israel's January 28 general election. A renewed spate of Palestinian terror attacks is expected to boost support for hardline parties, including Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's Likud.