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Breaking News

Car Bomb Injures Over 20 in Israel

Aired May 25, 2001 - 08:03   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: We move on to the Middle East, where we're following a breaking story. An explosion near the main bus station in the Israeli town of Hadera has injured several people.

CNN's Mike Hanna following this story from our bureau in Jerusalem -- he joins us by telephone -- Mike.

MIKE HANNA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carol, police say that more than 20 people have been injured in the explosion in this central city of Hadera -- no serious injuries reported.

Police say that what appears to have happened is that a car detonated next to a bus which was carrying a number of people. The two people in the car, according to police, are dead. They are describing the two as suicide bombers who were attempting to drive the car into the side of the bus -- so, police say that more than 20 people injured in a bomb attack in the Israeli city of Hadera -- among the injured: a 10-year-old and a 7th-month-old baby. However, none of the wounds are reported to be serious -- two dead, though -- the two, say police, that were driving the car in which the explosives that were detonated were packed -- Carol.

LIN: Mike, what do you think the political fallout from this might be?

HANNA: Well the bomb attacks in civilian areas have been followed by intense Israeli responses at Palestinian targets in the past. However, Israel has declared in recent days what it calls a unilateral cease-fire, saying that it will not take any offensive action, that it will act only in self defense.

It remains to be seen whether the retaliation or Israeli strike- back will still be observed in the terms of Israel's declared cease- fire -- certainly, the attack on a civilian target in Israel just another little item that is creating renewed tension in a region that is already intensely tense.

LIN: All right, thank you very much, Mike Hanna, following that story from Jerusalem.

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