Six Killed in Jerusalem Suicide Blast
By JASON KEYSER
.c The Associated Press
JERUSALEM (April 12) - A suicide bomber detonated explosives at a bus stop in Jerusalem's crowded outdoor market Friday, killing six people and wounding at least 50, television said.
The blast went off shortly after 4 p.m., at a time when the Mahane Yehuda market was crowded with shoppers hunting for pre-Sabbath bargains.
Israel TV said the bomber may have been a woman, and a photographer said there was a severed head of a woman at the scene.
Police Chief Mickey Levy said several people were killed, but did not give an exact number. The bomber failed to reach the heart of the market or get onto a bus because of tight security and so set off the blast while trying to get on a bus, Levy said.
Moments afterward, witnesses saw five white blankets covering remains in the street, but it was not clear if the remains were full bodies. Glass shards, twisted metal, blood and body parts were strewn across the asphalt.
Mahane Yehuda has been the scene of frequent suicide bombings in the past. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.
David Baker, a spokesman for Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, said the blast was ''another murderous attack by Palestinian terrorists against innocent Israelis at the busiest time of the week in the busiest market in Jerusalem.''
''It is clear that (Palestinian leader Yasser) Arafat and the Palestinian Authority exist for one purpose, spreading terror,'' Baker said.
Israel TV said Secretary of State Colin Powell was flying over Jerusalem at the time on the blast, en route to a tour of Israel's tense border with Lebanon.
AP-NY-04-12-02 1032EDT
Copyright 2002 The Associated Press. |
