August 28 Suicide Bomber Strikes Israeli Bus Station

An ambulance evacuates the wounded from the scene of the bombing.
Photo: Channel 2 august 28

Suicide Bomber Strikes Israeli Bus Station



JERUSALEM - A suicide bomber blew himself up next to a bus at a station in the southern Israeli city of Beersheba on Sunday, wounding at least 10 people, officials said. The attack was the first since Israel's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip this month.

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Witnesses said the bomber was stopped by a security guard before he could board the bus.

"I was suspicious of him. He had a large backpack and a plastic bag in his hand," a witness who identified himself as a bus driver named Rami told Israel Radio.

"I pointed him out to the guard. He was about 20 meters (yards) from the bus when he blew up. It was a huge explosion, very big," he said, adding that two security guards had approached the bomber just before the explosion.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

The bombing rattled efforts to move the Gaza withdrawal forward to full-fledged peacemaking.

"Israel has taken the necessary steps to further the prospects of peace with the Palestinians," said David Baker, an official in the office of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. "This bombing ... is another indication that the Palestinian Authority must take proper steps against terror, and without these steps, there will be no progress."

There has been a lull in attacks since Israel and the Palestinians declared a truce in February. But Palestinian militant groups vowed to attack Israel last week after Israeli troops killed five Palestinians in a raid in the West Bank.

"We condemn this attack and call upon all to make a maximum effort in order to maintain the truce and quiet," Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said. "Violence will bring more violence, and what Israelis and Palestinians need today is more peace and not violence."

Police said they had raised the level of alert across the country.