The Jerusalem Post (www.jpost.com) reports that a Palestinian genocide bomber has blown himself inside an Israeli bus, deliberately killing 7 and wounding 38 Israelis.

(Update: Israeli radio (bet.iba.org.il) reports that the the current toll is now 9 dead and over 50 Israelis wounded - including 2 that are in a coma and 9 that are in critical condition).

In an apparent suicide attack, a powerful explosion ripped apart a bus on Sunday morning near the northern town of Safed, killing seven people and wounding 38, police said.

The explosion blew off the roof of the bus and the vehicle then burst into flames. The attack occurred at about 8:45 .m. local time at an intersection near Mount Meron, and the site of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai's burial site, police sources said.

"I picked up four dead myself," Haim Ben-Shimon, a civilian who was nearby at the time of the blast, told Army Radio. "The bus is simply crushed. It looks as if the explosion happened in the center of the bus."

I copy the full article below.

SEVEN DEAD, 38 WOUNDED IN SUICIDE BUS BOMBING NEAR SAFED
By DAVID RUDGE, Aug. 4, 2002
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?
pagename=JPost/A/JPArticle/
ShowFull&cid=1027506437688

In an apparent suicide attack, a powerful explosion ripped apart a bus on Sunday morning near the northern town of Safed, killing seven people and wounding 38, police said.

The Egged bus no. 361 left Haifa early in the morning, packed with soldiers headed back to their bases, sources said.

The explosion blew off the roof of the bus and the vehicle then burst into flames. The attack occurred at about 8:45 .m. local time at an intersection near Mount Meron, and the site of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai's burial site, police sources said.

"I picked up four dead myself," Haim Ben-Shimon, a
civilian who was nearby at the time of the blast, told Army Radio. "The bus is simply crushed. It looks as if the explosion happened in the center of the bus."

Another witness, Pinhas Cohen, said: "A soldier came out with his face and uniform covered with blood, and two Arabs from the nearby restaurant gave him first aid."

Of the 38 wounded, nine were in serious condition at Ziv Hospital in Safed, officials said.

Dr. Oscar Enbon, director of the Ziv Hospital said 26 of the wounded had reached the hospital. Many were suffering from burns, he said.

Police sources said the blast appeared to be the work of a suicide bomber, although other possibilities were not immediately ruled out.

The bus, normally travelled on Sundays by soldiers, had many stops along the way in Galilee villages, radio stations said.

"On Sunday morning, the passengers are regulars. Unfortunately, many of them are soldiers on their way to bases in the north," said Ron Atner, a spokesman for the Egged bus company.

(With The Associated Press)

Emergency telephone numbers:

Ziv Hospital in Safed at 12-55-161
Rambam Hospital at 12-55-144
Poriya Hospital, Poriya (for Tiberias region) at 12-55-162

Posted by David Melle
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