| Bus attack Original Source Link: (May no longer be active) http://www.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/meast/09/19/mideast.violence/index.htmlhttp://www.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/meast/09/19/mideast.violence/index.html
At least 5 dead in Tel Aviv terror attack TEL AVIV, Israel (CNN) --A suicide bomber set off a blast on a crowded city bus in downtown Tel Aviv on Thursday, killing at least five Israelis, according to police.
It was the second terror attack in Israel in two days, after six weeks without any bombings.
"A bus just blew up in front of my eyes," said CNN sound engineer Michael Harris, who was near the scene. He described the blast as "enormous."
Ambulance services said at least 60 people had been wounded. At least five of them were reported to be in serious condition. The bomber was killed, police said.
The Tel Aviv police chief told Israeli television that the bus driver is believed to have tried to block the bomber as he boarded the bus. That, said the police chief, probably lessened the number of casualties.
The explosion went off just after 1 p.m. local time (6 a.m. ET) on Allenby Street in a crowded shopping district.
Dozens of emergency workers rushed to the scene. Television pictures showed rescuers aiding victims who sat on the shady, tree-lined sidewalks.
Police brought in bomb-sniffing dogs and canvassed the area, looking for other explosives.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility.
The blast came one day after an Israeli policeman was killed and two other Israelis were wounded when a suicide bomber blew himself up at a bus stop near the town of Umm el-Fahm in northern Israel. (Full story)
Ra'anan Gissin, an adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, said Palestinian terror groups remained "highly motivated" to carry out attacks in Israel.
Gissin said the Palestinian Authority was taking "no action whatsoever to stop the terror activity." He said Israeli military activity in the Palestinian territories was the only reason there had been "a lull in the successful terrorist attacks" for six weeks prior to Wednesday.
But Saeb Erakat, the chief Palestinian negotiator, said the Palestinian Authority was doing "everything we can" to stop the violence.
He said the Palestinian Authority "condemns any attack on Israeli citizens" and said the only way stop the violence is to "resume a meaningful peace process."
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