The 3 p.m. attack occurred near the main entrance to Jerusalem, next to the city’s central bus station, an area that is crowded with travelers and passers-by at all hours of the day.The blast reverberated throughout Jerusalem and blew out the windows of two crowded buses. Rescuers removed bloodied people from the area on stretchers, as sirens from speeding ambulances wailed in the background.

Click Here To Watch ramatic Raw Footage From The Aftermath Of The Israel Bus Bombing

Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat said the city would rebound quickly, vowing that Jerusalem’s first-ever marathon would take place as planned on Friday.”Every once in a while we are reminded who we are dealing with, a bunch of cowardly terrorists that put bombs in the middle of pedestrians,” he said.

“They will very soon find out that the city goes back to normal life and this is the best way to deal with terror – to show them that they have no gain from hurting innocent people.”

Dozens of casualties in Jerusalem explosion: police

REUTERS

(Writing by Jeffrey Heller, Editing by Crispian Balmer)

JERUSALEM | Wed Mar 23, 2011 9:46am EDT

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – An explosion on or near a bus in Jerusalem on Wednesday caused dozens of casualties, police said.

Scores of ambulances converged on the area, near the central bus station and a city conference hall in a Jewish neighborhood of downtown Jerusalem.

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Jerusalem Explosion Reported: Blast Near Bus In Israel

03/23/11 09:37 AM   via: HuffPost

JERUSALEM — A bomb exploded at a crowded bus stop Wednesday in central Jerusalem, wounding at least 25 people in what appeared to be the first militant attack in the city in several years.

The blast could be heard throughout Jerusalem and blew out the windows of two crowded buses.

Rescuers were seen removing bloodied people from the area on stretchers.

Israel’s national rescue service said 25 people were wounded, including 15 seriously. No deaths were reported.

Meir Hagid, one of the bus drivers, said he heard a loud explosion as he drove by the site, located near the main entrance to Jerusalem and its central bus station.

“I heard the explosion in the bus stop,” he said. He halted his vehicle and people got off. He said nobody in his bus was hurt.

Jerusalem suffered dozens of suicide bombings that targeted buses and restaurants during the second Palestinian uprising last decade. But the attacks have halted in recent years. Jerusalem last experienced a suicide bombing in 2004.

The bombing came amid rising tensions between Israel and the Hamas militant group, which has killed hundreds of Israelis in suicide bombings and other attacks in recent years.

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