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CNN Live Saturday

Suicide Bomber Kills 18-Month-Old, Nine Others in Jerusalem

Aired March 02, 2002 - 18:08   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.
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN ANCHOR: In central Jerusalem today, a suicide bomber killed nine Israelis, including an 18-month-old baby.

CNN's Jonathan Mann has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JONATHAN MANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): People in Jerusalem are so terrified of attacks, that much of the city was deserted when the suicide bomber struck.

But at the close of the Jewish Sabbath, in the ultra-Orthodox neighborhood he selected, parents and children were concluding their prayers and stepping out.

GIL KLEIMAN, POLICE SPOKESMAN: No question. At seven o'clock, right after the Sabbath holiday, there are a lot of people out on the streets, especially in this area.

MANN (on camera): The timing of the attack, but also its location seemed calculated not only for casualties, but also for world attention.

Residents around here will point up the street to a religious academy that they say is one of the largest in the world, bringing thousands of students from other countries.

(voice-over): Palestinian militants had vowed to attack after Israel launched assaults on two West Bank refugee camps.

Hamas supporters were in the streets of Ramallah demanding revenge when the suicide bomber struck.

HASSAN YOUSSEF, HAMAS (through translator): Don't we have the right to respond to Sharon's terror against our people?

MANN: But it was the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, a faction of Yasser Arafat's Fatah Movement, that claimed responsibility, also linking the bombing to the assault on the camps. It said a resident of another refugee camp actually carried the bomb.

Arafat's Palestinian Authority condemned the attack, but the strongest condemnation came from Israel. DORE GOLD, ADVISER TO ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER ARIEL SHARON: This has nothing to do with warfare. This has nothing to do with national liberation. This has to do with the murder of innocent Jews coming back from their evening prayers.

MANN: And not far from the bomb site, Orthodox Jews shouted, "Death to the Arabs."

Jonathan Mann, CNN, Jerusalem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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