| Karkur junction suicide bombing | |
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| Part of the Second Intifada militancy campaign | |
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The attack site
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| Location | Karkur Junction, Wadi Ara |
| Date | October 21, 2002 |
| Attack type | suicide bomber |
| Deaths | 7 soldiers and 7 civilians (+ 2 suicide bombers) |
| Injured | 40+ |
| Perpetrator(s) | Islamic Jihad |
The Karkur junction bus bombing was a suicide attack on October 21, 2002 at the Karkur junction near Wadi Ara, Israel. The attack, carried out by Islamic Jihad, killed 14 passengers and wounded 50.
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Egged commuter bus 841 was on its way on Route No. 65 from Kiryat Shmona to Tel Aviv when it stopped at the Karkur Junction, about 8 kilometers from Hadera at the afternoon rush hour. A passenger got on and spoke to driver Chaim Avraham, but before he could answer, a jeep loaded with an estimated 100 kilograms of TNT rammed the back of the bus, causing an explosion. A fire broke out, causing a chain of explosions from the ammunition carried by soldiers who were riding the bus.[1] The explosion ignited the fuel tank, leaving the bus completely gutted. The blaze initially prevented the police and rescue workers from approaching the bus, which was reduced to a blackened skeleton.[2]
7 Israeli soldiers and 7 civilians were killed in the attack and 50 passengers were wounded.[3]
The terrorist attack came two days before United States Assistant Secretary of State William Burns was due to visit Israel as part of a tour of Middle East nations, seeking support for an invasion of Iraq.
The victims of the Karkur junction suicide bombing:
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The military wing of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the Al-Quds Brigades, claimed responsibility for the attack, saying that it was carried out by Ashraf al-Asama, 18, and Mohammed al-Hasnin, 19, both from the West Bank city of Jenin.
The Palestinian Authority said it condemned the suicide bombing. An Israeli official expressed skepticism, declaring that “The Palestinian Authority has become a prime authority on terror and could not care less about preventing it."[4]