Two buses exploded in the southern Israeli city of Be'er Sheba Tuesday afternoon. The blasts were carried out by two suicide bombers. Hamas claimed the attacks, the first suicide bombings inside Israel in five months. Hamas said in a leaflet issued in the West Bank city of Hebron the attack was avenging Israel's assassinations of two of its leaders earlier this year.
Investigation indicated that both buses departed from the central bus station in the city, and two suicide bombers - one on each bus - blew themselves up at the same time. The buses burst into flames in the center of Be'er Sheba and Israeli TV reports said two mangled bodies were found on the buses presumably those of the bombers. They were later identified as Ahmed Kawasma and Nassim Jaabri, both residents of Hebron.
Scores of people were injured and killed in the blasts. Official Israeli reports said at least 16 people, including a three-year-old child, died and more than 90 wounded.
Meanwhile, Army Radio, citing police sources, reported that a third blast was heard in a shopping mall nearby. A few minutes later, this report was dismissed.
In the Palestinian refugee camp of Ein el-Hilweh in southern Lebanon, gunmen fired shots into the air to celebrate the attacks, a Palestinian official said, according to The AP.
On his part, Palestinian Minister Saeb Erekat said "the Palestinian Authority condemns any attacks that target civilians, whether Israelis or Palestinian."
Reacting to the news from Be'er Sheba, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was quoted as saying his government would not relax in its "fight against terror." "We have to fight terror: that is what my government is doing. The struggle against terror will be pursued to the fullest extent," he said. (Albawaba.com)
© 2004 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
