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15 Killed in Haifa Bus Blast
Reuters, March 6,
2003
Haifa, Israel - The first Palestinian suicide bombing in two months tore apart a packed Israeli bus in the port city of Haifa yesterday, killing at least 15 people and wounding about 40, police said.
The explosion ripped the roof off bus number 37, turned the vehicle into a charred wreck and hurled bodies out onto a main street at the entrance to the Carmeliya neighbourhood in Israel's third largest city.
Hamas and Islamic Jihad said the bombing was revenge for recent Israeli raids in Gaza which have killed numerous civilians.
But officials from the two groups stopped short of claiming responsibility for the bombing.
Palestinian information minister Yasser Abed Rabbo condemned the bombing. "We condemn all attacks against civilians including today's attack in Haifa. The attack will only serve to distract attention from the more than 150 Palestinian civilians killed by Israel over the last two months," he said.
The White House said U.S. President George W. Bush condemns "in the strongest terms" the bombing.
Spokesman Ari Fleischer said: "Bush's message to the terrorists is: Their efforts will not be successful. He will continue to pursue the path to peace in the Middle East, and he urges all to condemn today's attack."
EU foreign affairs envoy Javier Solana also condemned the attack, saying the bloodshed must end.
Also yesterday, Israeli troops shot dead an elderly Palestinian shepherd outside a Jewish colony on the edge of Gaza City.
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