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CNN Sunday Morning
Suicide Bomber Kills at Least 3 in West Bank
Aired October 27, 2002 - 07:02 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.
ARTHEL NEVILLE, CNN ANCHOR: We're going to go back now to the suicide bombing in the West Bank. It happened at a gas station in the Jewish settlement of Ariel. Three people are reported to have died, many more were injured. Our Alessio Vinci joins us now from Jerusalem with more details.
Hi, Alessio.
OK, that apparently is Matthew Chance -- so, we're going to bring that live report to you a little bit later.
In the meantime -- OK, we do have Alessio -- Alessio, can you tell us the latest from Jerusalem?
ALESSIO VINCI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Arthel. Yes, the attack took place about two and a half hours ago, near the entrance of the Jewish settlement of Ariel. That's one of the largest settlements inside the West Bank, currently occupied by -- partially -- partly occupied by Israeli forces.
And according to eyewitnesses this is what happened: A lone suicide bomber approached that gas station wearing some explosives, and according to these eyewitnesses, two men spotted the man arriving at the gas station and managed to grab him, and then called on some Israeli soldiers who where nearby to shoot at him, and here is we're having two different account according to different witnesses.
Some accounts say that the man managed, nevertheless, to explode the device that he was -- that he was carrying, while another eyewitness account suggests that Israeli soldiers fired on the man, possibly triggering the explosion of the device. Nevertheless, this explosion caused the death of the two men -- presumably the two men that tried to grab the suicide bomber, and the suicide bomber himself.
According to medical sources, who are telling CNN that 19 people have been wounded. One of them is in serious conditions. Medical ambulances have rushed to the scene, and managed to bring those wounded at nearby hospitals.
Now, we understand from police officials at the scene that the target of the attack could have been a cafe near the gas station. That is a cafe that is packed with Israeli soldiers who were buying sandwiches and taking a rest before returning to their post. This is Sunday morning, of course, here in Jerusalem, the beginning of the work week here in Israel, and these are soldiers who are waiting to be picked up to return to their post. This is not the first time that suicide bombers have targeted this area. It lays just across the street from a hotel, which was the target of another attack about seven months ago, when another suicide bomber blew himself up, injuring at least 14 people.
So, just to recap: Two people are dead, plus a suicide bomber, 19 injured, one of them seriously wounded. We do understand also that most of those who are wounded are Israeli soldiers who were at this cafe and at the gas station waiting to be picked up. Back to you, Arthel.
NEVILLE: Alessio, have you heard anything from Palestinian or Israeli authorities?
VINCI: No, we have not received any kind of reports yet on claiming responsibility about this attack. There is one report that we are hearing, but we are not being able to independently confirm, that this is an attack carried out by the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, the offshoot of Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement. This is an unconfirmed report that we are trying to get confirmed for you, but right now there is no claim of responsibility. We do know that a week ago, when a similar attack took place in northern Israel, Yasser Arafat condemned the suicide bombing. We have not heard from him yet, but again, this is an attack that just took place about two and a half hours ago -- Arthel.
NEVILLE: Absolutely. Alessio Vinci live from Jerusalem, thank you very much.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired October 27, 2002 - 07:02 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ARTHEL NEVILLE, CNN ANCHOR: We're going to go back now to the suicide bombing in the West Bank. It happened at a gas station in the Jewish settlement of Ariel. Three people are reported to have died, many more were injured. Our Alessio Vinci joins us now from Jerusalem with more details.
Hi, Alessio.
OK, that apparently is Matthew Chance -- so, we're going to bring that live report to you a little bit later.
In the meantime -- OK, we do have Alessio -- Alessio, can you tell us the latest from Jerusalem?
ALESSIO VINCI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Arthel. Yes, the attack took place about two and a half hours ago, near the entrance of the Jewish settlement of Ariel. That's one of the largest settlements inside the West Bank, currently occupied by -- partially -- partly occupied by Israeli forces.
And according to eyewitnesses this is what happened: A lone suicide bomber approached that gas station wearing some explosives, and according to these eyewitnesses, two men spotted the man arriving at the gas station and managed to grab him, and then called on some Israeli soldiers who where nearby to shoot at him, and here is we're having two different account according to different witnesses.
Some accounts say that the man managed, nevertheless, to explode the device that he was -- that he was carrying, while another eyewitness account suggests that Israeli soldiers fired on the man, possibly triggering the explosion of the device. Nevertheless, this explosion caused the death of the two men -- presumably the two men that tried to grab the suicide bomber, and the suicide bomber himself.
According to medical sources, who are telling CNN that 19 people have been wounded. One of them is in serious conditions. Medical ambulances have rushed to the scene, and managed to bring those wounded at nearby hospitals.
Now, we understand from police officials at the scene that the target of the attack could have been a cafe near the gas station. That is a cafe that is packed with Israeli soldiers who were buying sandwiches and taking a rest before returning to their post. This is Sunday morning, of course, here in Jerusalem, the beginning of the work week here in Israel, and these are soldiers who are waiting to be picked up to return to their post. This is not the first time that suicide bombers have targeted this area. It lays just across the street from a hotel, which was the target of another attack about seven months ago, when another suicide bomber blew himself up, injuring at least 14 people.
So, just to recap: Two people are dead, plus a suicide bomber, 19 injured, one of them seriously wounded. We do understand also that most of those who are wounded are Israeli soldiers who were at this cafe and at the gas station waiting to be picked up. Back to you, Arthel.
NEVILLE: Alessio, have you heard anything from Palestinian or Israeli authorities?
VINCI: No, we have not received any kind of reports yet on claiming responsibility about this attack. There is one report that we are hearing, but we are not being able to independently confirm, that this is an attack carried out by the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, the offshoot of Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement. This is an unconfirmed report that we are trying to get confirmed for you, but right now there is no claim of responsibility. We do know that a week ago, when a similar attack took place in northern Israel, Yasser Arafat condemned the suicide bombing. We have not heard from him yet, but again, this is an attack that just took place about two and a half hours ago -- Arthel.
NEVILLE: Absolutely. Alessio Vinci live from Jerusalem, thank you very much.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
