Karkur junction suicide bombing

32°27′54″N 34°59′38″E / 32.46500°N 34.99389°E / 32.46500; 34.99389DateOctober 21, 2002; 21 years ago (2002-10-21)Suicide bomberDeaths7 soldiers and 7 civilians (+2 attackers)Injured40+PerpetratorIslamic Jihad

The Karkur junction bus bombing was a suicide attack on October 21, 2002, at the Karkur junction near Wadi Ara, Israel. The attack, carried out by Islamic Jihad, killed 14 passengers and wounded 50.

The attack

Egged commuter bus 841 was on its way on Route No. 65 from Kiryat Shmona to Tel Aviv when it stopped at the Karkur junction, about 8 kilometers from Hadera at the afternoon rush hour. A passenger got on and spoke to driver Chaim Avraham, but before he could answer, a jeep loaded with an estimated 100 kilograms of TNT rammed the back of the bus, causing an explosion. A fire broke out, causing a chain of explosions from the ammunition carried by soldiers who were riding the bus.^[1] The explosion ignited the fuel tank, leaving the bus completely gutted. The blaze initially prevented the police and rescue workers from approaching the bus, which was reduced to a blackened skeleton.^[2]

7 Israeli soldiers and 7 civilians were killed in the attack and 50 passengers were wounded.^[3]

Official reactions

The Palestinian Authority said it condemned the suicide bombing. An Israeli official expressed skepticism, declaring that "The Palestinian Authority has become a prime authority on terror and could not care less about preventing it."^[4]

See also

• Israeli casualties of war

External links

• 16 Die After Car Blast Causes Bus Fire In Israel^{[permanent dead link]} - published on the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on October 22, 2002
• Suicide car-bomb attack kills 14 in Israel - published on The Independent on October 22, 2002
• Bus Blast in Israel Kills at Least 14; Explosive-Laden Vehicle Sets Off Rush-Hour Inferno; 50 Injured Archived November 8, 2012, at the Wayback Machine - published on The Washington Post on October 22, 2002
• Terror attack kills 14 in Israel - published on CNN on October 22, 2002
• Suicide bombing of Egged bus No 841 at Karkur junction - published at the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs

References