Five dead in suicide bus bomb blast
At least five people were killed in a suicide bomb attack on a crowded Jerusalem bus this morning.
Up to 44 others were injured in the attack, police and rescue workers said.
About 20 of the wounded were in a serious and critical condition, rescue workers said.
The huge blast went off in the middle of the morning rush hour as the bus drove past a petrol station. The explosion ripped apart the back of bus and scattered body parts and glass across a wide area.
Rescue workers at the scene were placing body parts into body bags.
“I heard a huge explosion and saw people running around and I just started crying,” said Anne Reichart, a German tourist who was on a nearby bus.
Palestinian Cabinet minister Saeb Erekat said he condemned the attack and urged “the United States to step up its efforts to revive the peace process”.
Israeli officials said the blast proved the need for the security barrier it was building in the West Bank.
“Palestinian terror continues to pose a clear and present threat to Israeli civilians,” said David Baker, an official in Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s office.
