Asia

Home page

Asia

At least 21 hurt in Tel Aviv bus explosion

21 November 2012 14:06 (UTC +04:00)

Baku – APA. An explosion hit a bus in central Tel Aviv on Wednesday, wounding at least 21 people. One of the casualties was in serious condition, one sustained light-to-moderate injuries, and the rest were lightly wounded, APA reports quoting Haaretz.

Police opened an immediate manhunt for two suspected terrorists.

The explosion occurred at the corner of Shaul Hamelech and Henrietta Szold Streets just after noon. A suspect was arrested about half an hour after the explosion, but was quickly released from custody.

Passersby were ordered to keep their distance from the scene. Security alert was raised to level 4 in the area surrounding the Kirya, Israel's national defense compound. The municipality ordered schools to keep pupils indoors for nearly two hours after the attack.

Police temporarily closed off the Azrieli Center nearby, but ruled out suspicion of an additional terror plot in the area.