Another 10 wounded are at Shaare Zedek, including one in serious condition with wounds to his limbs and burns all over his body; two in moderate condition, both of whom underwent operations during the evening.
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Images on social media showed smoke billowing from the burnt out bus on Hebron Road, in the south-west of the city. Israel says most of the dead were attackers, with the rest killed in clashes.
“In addition, another bus and auto were damaged”.
All of those hurt were on the bus that contained the explosive device, which was on the back of the bus, Jerusalem District Police Commander Yoram HaLevi told CNN affiliate Ch. 2 Israel.
“We will find out who placed the bomb, we will reach those who dispatched them and we will also get to those who stand behind them, and settle the account with these terrorists”, he said. A few incidents took places on buses, including a grisly stabbing and shooting attack on a Jerusalem bus.
A large number of these attacks have been stabbings, though guns and cars – used to run over people – also have been used.
The last bomb targeting a bus in Jerusalem dates back to 2011, when a British tourist was killed.
In Tel Aviv, a bomb exploded on an empty bus in 2013 in what Israeli authorities called a “terrorist” attack.
He added that it was too early to know who was responsible or whether it was a suicide attack.
Attacks on Israeli buses by suicide bombers were a hallmark of the Palestinian uprising in 2000-2005 but have been rare since. According to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, quoting an Israeli police spokesperson, the bus was not carrying any passengers when it exploded, and the casualties were apparently people close to the bus.
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Many analysts say Palestinian frustration with Israeli occupation and settlement building in the West Bank, the complete lack of progress in peace efforts and their own fractured leadership have fed the recent unrest.
