An Israel freight train was blasted by an Arab landmine last night and six cars were derailed and a portion of track ripped up, a military spokesman announced here today. There were no casualties, although the wrecked train was fired on by unidentified riflemen for some time after the explosion.
The announcement placed the scene of the explosion just north of Kalkilya in the central region of the country. The mine was detonated under a portion of the track which was one and a quarter miles from Jordan-held territory in the “triangle” area. Military circles pointed out that the electrically detonated bomb was of a complicated type which required expert handling, and that it” was unlikely that any but regular troops had used it.
Israel military units arrived on the scene shortly after the blast and stayed to guard the freight against marauders. Service on the Haifa-Tel Aviv line was suspended for several hours after 10:30 P. M. last night when the bomb was set off.
In Parliament, meanwhile, Herut deputies today demanded that the problem of the train derailment–which tops a series of Jordan-provoked incidents in the past few weeks–be debated tomorrow. There is a possibility that Foreign Minister Moshe Sharett will make a statement for the government on the situation.
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