The Hindu : International : Hamas says slain leaders avenged

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Sep 01, 2004

International

International

Hamas says slain leaders avenged

BEERSHEBA (ISRAEL), AUG. 31. Palestinian suicide bombers blew up two buses almost simultaneously in southern Israel on Tuesday, killing at least 15 persons and wounding more than 80 others, police said.

The blast was the first suicide bombing inside Israel in nearly six months and raised the likelihood of a harsh Israeli response. The Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, planned to meet top security officials later on Tuesday, his office said.

The militant group Hamas claimed responsibility for the attacks in Beersheba, the largest city in southern Israel and just 15 km from the West Bank. Hamas issued a leaflet in Hebron — the closest Palestinian city to Beersheba — saying it was avenging the assassinations of two of its leaders last spring.

Sharon firm on pullout

The blasts came hours after Mr. Sharon presented to his Likud party the most detailed timetable yet for Israel's withdrawal from Gaza Strip, and warned party rebels the plan ``will be implemented, period.''

After the attacks, Mr. Sharon said ``the fight against terror will continue full strength.'' Aides said he would push forward with the pullout.

Rescue workers scoured the scene, cleaning up body parts and scattered pieces of the wreckage as dozens of onlookers gathered nearby. A hand with a ring lay on the ground, and blood was splattered on the walls of the mangled buses.

The two buses blew up about 100 metres apart near a busy intersection in the centre of Beersheba.

``People were screaming and yelling. Everybody was running,'' said a witness.

Police said the messy scene was complicating the recovery of bodies and warned the death roll could rise. They did not know whether the suicide bombers were among the 15 recovered bodies.

Israel's Magen David Adom rescue service said 30 people were in serious or moderate condition.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

International