|
|
|
18
killed in suicide bomb blast By Alan Philps and Ohad Gozani (Filed: 10/08/2001) A PALESTINIAN suicide bomber blew himself up in a crowded
pizza restaurant in Jerusalem yesterday, killing 18 people, including at
least six children, and injuring more than 100. Izz el-Din al-Masri holds an M16 rifle and a copy of the Koran in this photo supplied by Hamas It was the worst blast in the city in 10 months of
violence and brought immediate demands for retaliation. Early today it seemed that revenge raids had begun as Israeli
F-16 jets fired three missiles at the police station in the West Bank city of
Ramallah. The police station burst into flames, but there was no word
of casualties, Palestinian security sources said. Many police stations had
been evacuated in fear of attack. Israel would not immediately confirm the strike. The 10lb bomb, which scattered nails, screws and scrap metal,
cut a deadly swath through several families having a summer holiday treat, as
well as passers-by outside. Most victims were Israelis, but at least one
American and a Brazilian died. A soldier, Naor Sharab, told Israeli television: "The
worst thing I saw, and it will haunt me all my life, was a baby sitting in a
pushchair outside a shop - dead. The baby's mother came out and started to
scream hysterically when she saw the baby." Rabbi Aharon Haberman said: "It was an unbearable sight.
I saw about 30 people lying on the ground and many others standing in shock.
I attended to a six-year-old girl with large gashes in her neck. "I rushed into the restaurant. I did not know where
to begin. It was quiet at first, then the screams came, particularly of children writhing in pain and realising they
were missing limbs. "I took care of a four-year-old boy whose arm had
been cut off. I asked people to try to find it, to no avail." Yuval Levi, who works in a shop across the road, said: "There
was fire and smoke. People were simply thrown out of the restaurant." Max Israel, a neighbouring shopkeeper, left the restaurant
just before the blast. He said: "Seconds later there was an explosion
that blew everything apart. People flew up in the air. "I saw two children lying inside their pushchair.
They appeared to be dead. Their mother was lying on top of them. I tried to help them as much as possible. It was horrible,
simply horrible." Despite repeated warnings of an imminent attack, the bomber
had been able to walk into the Sbarro restaurant with the bomb in a shoulder
bag. He then placed it at the counter and detonated it. The extremist Islamic group Hamas named him as Izz el-Din
al-Masri. At first Palestinian officials refused to condemn the
attack. But as the scale of the killing emerged and international outrage
grew, Yasser Arafat issued a denunciation and called for a new truce. But Mr Arafat was the main target of Isreali condemnationa
as they accused him of failing to curb the bomb-makers. The government was set on a military response, although not and all-out one that might force him into exile or destroy his self-rule government in the West Bank and Gaza
Strip. President Bush, in an usually strong statement, demanded that
Mr Arafat "bring to justice those responsible and take immediate,
sustained action to prevent future attacks". Palestinian gunmen killed a young Israeli woman and seriously wounded another in the Israeli farming community of Merav, near the West Bank. |