Bomb Explodes on Jerusalem Bus Wounding 16

Jerusalem (TPS) – An explosion ripped through a Jerusalem bus on Monday injuring sixteen people, two of them seriously. A police bomb squad determined that “an explosive device was detonated in the back of the bus causing the passengers’ injuries and subsequent fire,” said a Jerusalem Police spokesperson.

Security officials have confirmed that the incident was indeed a terror attack.

“It’s probably a bomb,” Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat told reporters on the scene, adding that the incident is still “under investigation.”

Several passengers were injured in the explosion, which occurred on the number 12 public bus on Moshe Bar’am St. near the Talpiyot industrial zone, but all managed to get off the bus before it caught fire, Barkat said. Police investigators are exploring the possibility that one of the two seriously injured men is the terrorist behind the bombing.

After the bus went up in flames, the fire spread to a second bus and more people were injured.

Sixteen people were treated at the scene. Two are in serious condition, six in moderate condition, and the rest have only light injuries, a Magen David Adom spokesperson said. The wounded were evacuated to the Hadassah Trauma Ward and Shaare Zedek Medical Center for further treatment.

“I request that the public be alert, make sure you open your eyes,” Barkat said. “But continue with your plans. Here in Jerusalem and Israel we go back to normal life as soon as possible.”

Michael Zeff and Jonathan Benedek contributed to this report.