Two Suicide Bombers Strike Israel
A suicide bomber detonated a powerful explosion on a bus during rush hour here this morning, killing at least 14 people, the police said.

The explosion, which blew out the sides of the bus and peeled off its top from front to back, took place on the south side of the city, at the Patt Junction, near a mall. The bus was carrying commuters and possibly school children from the city's outskirts to its center.

Initial reports were of at least 29 people injured, five of them seriously. Two black body bags lay beside the wrecked bus, surrounded by broken glass and other debris. Another body, covered by a bag, lay on the front steps of the bus, spilling onto the road. The bumper of the bus lay in the street, spattered with blood.

Jerusalem had been on high alert for the last 24 hours, with helicopters overhead, snap checkpoints jamming traffic on some streets and large numbers of armed soldiers on patrol.

On Monday, Israeli forces killed a Palestinian militant in the West Bank village of Al Khader, Walid Sbeich, 30, just south of the scene of the attack this morning. Israel radio linked that killing to this attack, saying that Mr. Sbeich may have dispatched the bomber before he was killed.

The bus, a red and white number 32A, was making its way from the Jerusalem neighborhood of Gilo, which was built on land seized by Israel during the 1967 war and has been a flashpoint in the conflict.
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/06/18/international/middleeast/18MIDE.html