Homicide Bomber Blows Apart Jerusalem Bus

[igloo]

There is not a word to describe this........although I am sure Sassa will come up for a justification for this

Homicide Bomber Blows Apart Jerusalem Bus

Tuesday, August 19, 2003

JERUSALEM — An stretch bus with two full passenger sections was torn apart by an explosion in Jerusalem Tuesday evening, killing at least 20 people, including three children, a rescue service said.

Israeli police said a homicide bomber blew himself up on the packed bus at about 9 p.m. local time. The blast, which injured at least 100, took place on a main thoroughfare in West Jerusalem.

Several bodies were seen strewn on the sidewalk after the blast and survivors with burned and blood-smeared faces were being led away from the scene by paramedics. A small girl and a crying boy were among those taken off the bus.

The bus was badly damaged and the windows had been blown out.

• Video: Jerusalem Bus Bombing

Fox News' Jonathan Hunt reported seeing six people carried away from the scene by emergency workers and a large trickle of blood running into the street from the wrecked bus, which he described as a "folding" type with a rubber flexible connector halfway along its length.

The bombing threatened to restart the cycle of attacks and retaliation that could derail a U.S.-backed "road map" peace plan to Palestinian statehood.

Over the weekend, Israel and the Palestinians had reached agreement on the handover of four West Bank towns to Palestinian control. That deal was likely to be put on hold.

The Palestinian Authority (search) had no immediate comment. The explosion went off as Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas (search) was meeting with Islamic militants in the Gaza Strip to persuade them to halt attacks on Israelis.

The militants had declared a unilateral truce on June 29 but have said they would continue taking revenge for Israeli killings of their operatives.

The militant Islamic Jihad (search) also has said it would avenge the killing of a senior figure by Israeli troops last week.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.