10 die in suicide bomb blast
A suicide bomber blew himself up on a bus in Jerusalem today, killing 10 bystanders and wounding about 30 in an attack near Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s official residence, police and paramedics said.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility.
The explosion coincided with a German-brokered prisoner swap between Israel and the Lebanese guerrilla group Hezbollah. It was not immediately clear whether there was a connection.
The blast went off just 100 yards from Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s official residence in the Rehavia district in downtown Jerusalem.
Paramedics said 30 people were wounded, several of them seriously.
The explosion turned the bus into a twisted wreck. Shattered glass lay on the ground. Emergency workers tended to the wounded.
The last attack in Israel was a suicide bombing at a bus stop outside of Tel Aviv on December 25 that killed four people.
