Rush hour bus bomber kills at least seven

A car pulled up next to a bus and exploded in northern Israel during this afternoon’s rush hour, killing at least seven people and wounding more than 30 as the entire bus was set ablaze.

The powerful blast occurred several miles inland from the coastal town of Hadera, at Karkur Junction. The intense flames sent plumes of smoke into the sky and prevented police and rescue workers from approaching the vehicle immediately.

“A car full of explosives drew up next to the bus and blew up,” said Zelig Feiner, spokesman for Zaka rescue service. “Then the bus exploded into flames, trapping a lot of people on board.”

At least six people were killed, not including the bomber, he said.

Israel television and radio stations reported seven people killed, saying most or all of the dead were in the back of the blazing bus.

One rescue worker said there was an armed guard on the bus but he could do nothing under the circumstances.

Palestinian militants have carried out dozens of bomb attacks in the past two years of Mideast violence, and the Hadera area has been a frequent target.

Though Hadera is on Israel’s Mediterranean coast, it is only about 10 miles from the West Bank, where many of the suicide bombers have come from.

A Palestinian gunman burst into a banquet hall in the town in January and sprayed gunfire at a family celebrating a bat mitzvah, a Jewish coming-of-age celebration. Six guests were killed.

Buses travelling to or from Hadera to cities and towns inland in northern Israel have been attacked numerous times.

A suicide bomber from the radical Islamic Jihad group pulled his car up next to a bus on June 5 and detonated his explosives, killing 16 passengers near Meggido, about 15 miles north-east of Hadera.