Afula Bus massacre
| Afula bus suicide bombing | |
|---|---|
  The attack site
|
|
| Location | Afula, Israel |
| Coordinates | 32°36′43.38″N 35°17′16.88″E / 32.6120500°N 35.2880222°E |
| Date | April 6, 1994 12:15 pm (GMT+2) |
|
Attack type
|
Suicide attack |
| Deaths | 8 Israeli civilians (+ 1 bomber) |
|
Non-fatal injuries
|
55 |
| Perpetrators | Hamas claimed responsibility |
The Afula bus suicide bombing was the suicide bombing attack that was carried out on April 6, 1994 at a bus next to an Egged bus in the center of Afula, Israel. Eight Israeli civilians were killed in the attack and 55 additional people were injured. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.
The Afula bus suicide bombing was the first suicide bombing attack to be carried out by Palestinian militants against Israeli civilians in Israel, and was carried out in retaliation for the killing by a settler of 29 Muslims while they were at prayer in the Ibrahimi mosque in Hebron on February 25.
The Afula bus suicide bombing attack was planned by Hamas chief bombmaker Yahya Ayyash, who began to plan suicide bombings within Israel in 1992.
Ayyash rigged a 1987 Opel Ascona with seven gas cylinders, five anti-personnel hand grenades, and wrapped the bomb in a rucksack containing 1,100 carpenter nails.
Around 11 am, during the Holocaust Memorial Day, a Palestinian suicide bomber, drove a vehicle full of explosives into the division nine street in downtown Afula.
The suicide bomber stopped his vehicle next to an Egged commuter bus line number 348 and detonated the explosives device as the bus was boarding passengers at the bus stop which was crowded with people.
A few hours after the blast, Hamas issued a communique stating that the bombing was carried out by a 19-year-old Palestinian named Ra'id Zaqarna, who originated from the village of Qabatya in the West Bank and who was a member of the Abdel el-Rahman Hamadan militant cell of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades. Zaqarna drove to the intersection of Afula's 9th Brigade (Hativa Tesha) street, and pulled in front of the #348 bus. As a group of Israeli students boarded the bus, Zaqarna detonated the bomb.
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Wikipedia