Israel Matzav

Major car-bombing attack thwarted in Haifa

Police dismantled several explosive devices that were wired to a car parked outside the Lev haMifratz mall in Haifa this evening.

The bombs were found after a partial explosion occurred, alerting local security. Police are currently operating under the belief that the motive for the attempted bombing is nationalistic.

Sappers alerted to the scene worked for a lengthy period of time to dismantle the remaining explosives, which were concealed in a bag. According to the police, the largest of the explosive devices detonated partially, leaving the rest of it intact. A number of smaller charges spread around it also did not detonate. The mall, adjacent to the outdoor parking lot also used by a neighboring bus terminal, was evacuated for fear the remaining explosives would detonate.

Police forces swarmed the area after receiving reports of an explosion inside a white Subaru car, which is registered as belonging to a female resident of Jerusalem.

Northern District Police Commander, Major-General Shimon Koren, held a briefing at the scene: "At around 8:30 pm this evening, an explosion was heard near the Lev HaMifratz mall. The explosion brought a large number of police forces to the scene, and a number of additional explosive devices were discovered inside the car. We are currently engaged in a wide-reaching search for the person who parked the car here," he said.

It sounds like we were really lucky that the police found this one.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 11:37 PM