Suicide bomber wreaks mayhem by bus stop

A suicide bomber has detonated explosives near a bus stop in northern Jerusalem killing at least seven and seriously injuring 38.

Reports of the incident remain sketchy and some news agencies are reporting numerous deaths.

The blast was near a bus stop in the French Hill neighbourhood, an area that Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East war, and which Palestinians claim for a future state.

A police source said the bomber got out of a red Audi and set off the explosives.

The car sped away, disappearing into Palestinian neighbourhoods in east Jerusalem.

"The Palestinian wave of terror continues to be unleashed against Israel's civilian population," said David Baker, a spokesman in the office of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

The blast comes one day after a Palestinian suicide bomber killed 19 people on a bus in southern Jerusalem, the deadliest bombing in the city in six years.

Israel has said it will reoccupy parts of Palestinian territory in response to such attacks.