Teenage girl kills two in Jerusalem suicide attack

A female Palestinian suicide bomber killed two Israelis and wounded at least 16 others today when she blew herself up at a crowded crossroads in Jerusalem.

The bombing came two days before the holiest day on the Jewish calendar, the fast of Yom Kippur, and at a time of heightened police presence throughout the country. Israel has imposed a closure on the West Bank since last week.

The Al Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, a militant group linked to Yasser Arafat’s Fatah movement, claimed responsibility for the attack, the first in Jerusalem since February 22.

The group identified the bomber as Zainab Abu Salem, an 18-year-old woman from the Askar refugee camp near Nablus in the West Bank.

Rescue officials and witnesses said the woman was headed for a crowded bus stop when two paramilitary officers approached her, and apparently prevented her from reaching the area.

“The operation of border police officers today in Jerusalem prevented a very big attack,” Jerusalem police chief Ilan Franco said at the scene of the explosion.

The blast destroyed the bus stop, leaving shards of glass scattered in the road as the smell of burned rubber wafted in the air.

Police said the woman was carrying between seven to 11 pounds of explosives in a bag.

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, under fire from his traditional hard-line supporters for a plan to pull out of all Gaza Strip and four West Bank settlements next year, said Israel’s fight against militant groups would continue ”unabated”.

“It was a grave attack, something which obliges us to continue fighting terrorism as we have in the past,” he said

Only hours before the attack, Sharon hinted that Israel will one day kill Palestinian leader Arafat, the same way it has attacked leaders of the militant Hamas group.

“We acted against Hamas people and since then more people have been added to this list,” Sharon told Israel Radio. ”When the time is right, we will act the same way with Arafat.”

Today’s attack was the first suicide bombing in Israel since August 31, when a pair of bombers killed 16 people in the southern city of Beersheba.

Palestinian militants have staged more than 100 suicide bombings inside Israel during four years of fighting. Women have carried out at least eight of the attacks.

Most of the women were tied to the Al Aqsa group, although the Islamic groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad have also dispatched women.

Some counterterrorism experts have speculated that the militant groups have turned to using women because they raise less suspicion among Israeli soldiers.

Palestinian cabinet minister Saeb Erekat condemned the attack, saying the Palestinians oppose all violence aimed at civilians.