Kiryat HaYovel supermarket bombing
| Kiryat HaYovel supermarket bombing | |
|---|---|
| Part of the Second Intifada militancy campaign | |
  The attack site
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| Location | Shufersal supermarket at the Kiryat HaYovel neighbourhood in Jerusalem Israel |
| Coordinates | 31°45′42″N 35°10′30″E / 31.76167°N 35.17500°E |
| Date | March 29, 2002 |
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Attack type
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suicide bombing |
| Deaths | 2 Israeli civilians (+ 1 bomber) |
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Non-fatal injuries
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28 civilians |
| Perpetrators | One 16-year-old Palestinian female suicide bomber (Ayat al-Akhras). Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack. |
The Kiryat HaYovel supermarket bombing was a suicide bombing which occurred on March 29, 2002, in which Ayat al-Akhras, a 18-year-old Palestinian female suicide bomber, blew herself up at the entrance of the main supermarket in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Kiryat HaYovel, killing three people and injuring 28.Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.
On 29 March 2002, during the afternoon, a Palestinian 18-year-old female suicide bomber approached the Kiryat Yovel supermarket in Jerusalem. The supermarket at the time was full of customers shopping for the weekend.
Haim Smadar, the 55-year-old security guard who guarded the entrance to the supermarket and spoke Arabic, became suspicious after two Arabic women who usually sold vegetables outside the shop entrance had been warned by Akhras to leave. Akhras detonated the explosives at the entrance to the store while struggling with Smadar, killing him and Rachel Levy, a 17-year-old Israeli girl. In addition, about 30 people were injured in the attack. Smadar managed to forcefully keep her away from the crowd, thus preventing a larger loss of life had the attack taken place inside the store.
After the attack, it was discovered that the suicide bomber was also carrying an unexploded mortar bomb.
When news of the bombing reached Dheisheh, some of the residents celebrated, handing out candies and firing guns in the air.
Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack and identified the suicide bomber as 18-year-old Ayat al-Akhras from the Deheishe Refugee Camp near Bethlehem. Intelligence reports indicate that Akhras was impregnated by a Fatah operative, despite being an unmarried teenager, and that the emotional and social consequences of her unplanned pregnancy were the primary reason she decided to commit a suicide attack. al-Akhras was the third female suicide bomber of the Al-Aqsa Intifada. Akhras' father worked for an Israeli construction firm. The family lived in a three-story home he built. Akhras, a straight-A student, was engaged to be married in July 2002. She joined the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades and was trained for several weeks before being sent to the Kiryat HaYovel supermarket in southwestern Jerusalem. Before the attack, Akhras made a video criticizing the Muslim world. She said: "I say to the Arab leaders, stop sleeping. Stop failing to fulfill your duty. Shame on the Arab armies who are sitting and watching the girls of Palestine fight while they are asleep."
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Wikipedia