Post date: Dec 22, 2013 2:31:30 PM
A bomb explodes on an empty bus in a Tel Aviv suburb, the first such incident for more than a year.
BAT YAM, TEL AVIV SUBURB, ISRAEL (DECEMBER 22, 2013) (REUTERS) - Passengers were evacuated from a bus in Bat Yam, a suburb of the coastal Israeli city of Tel Aviv, on Sunday (December 22), before a bomb hidden in a bag blew up causing major damage to the vehicle but hurting no one.
The bus company said there were about 12 passengers on the bus when the driver stopped after being told of a suspicious bag aboard.A bomb expert came on the scene and the bomb went off whilst he was there. The expert is fine police said.
The commuter bus windows were all blown out by the blast and the metal twisted.
No one claimed responsibility for the explosion which is the first since Israeli-Palestinian peace talks resumed in July.
The last time a bomb exploded on an Israeli bus was in November 2012. Fifteen people were wounded in the blast near the Defence Ministry compound in Tel Aviv. An Israeli Arab pleaded guilty earlier this month to planting the bomb for political reasons.