Three people-two women and a man–were killed and eight wounded when an explosion ripped through an Egged bus near the central market and bus station in Ashdod this morning. Security forces detained over 100 people for questioning. Two of the dead were first described as a husband and wife, killed instantly. But police later said that the two were not related. The second woman was critically injured and died later in the hospital.
The terrorist attack was the first carried out in Ashdod, and the Town Council is to meet tonight in special session to decide on steps to be taken to try and prevent recurrences. Council spokesmen said they would consider whether to bar Arabs from attending the weekly open market in the town, which attracts Arabs from the nearby Gaza Strip who come to sell their wares and agricultural products.
According to the bus driver, the bus was carrying 10 to 15 people at the time of the explosion, which went off under a seat in the middle of the bus. It was the worst bombing in Israel since last December when an explosion on a bus in Jerusalem killed six people and wounded 44.
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