Suicide bomber kills 19 on crowded bus

Israeli police said at least 19 people were killed and more than 40 wounded when a suicide bomber blew himself up on a crowded city bus in Jerusalem during this morning's rush hour. Many on the bus were schoolchildren.

The blast tore through the bus, peeling off its roof and sides, as it waited at traffic lights near a busy junction.

"There was a huge explosion, smoke and pieces of the bus and body parts were flying everywhere. It was horrible," a witness, who only gave his name as David, told Israel Army Radio.

One woman was screaming at volunteers who were collecting remains at the scene, "Where is my sister? Where is my sister?"

Jerusalem police had been on high alert after receiving warnings that a suicide bomber was trying to carry out an attack in Jerusalem. Acting on specific intelligence information, police set up checkpoints throughout the city.

The suicide attack came as President George Bush was preparing to outline his vision for an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal and the steps needed to get there. Mr Bush has repeatedly criticized Yasser Arafat, saying the Palestinian leader has not done enough to prevent terror attacks in Israel.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but Palestinian extremists have carried out about 70 suicide bomb attacks in the past 21 months of Israeli-Palestinian fighting. There was no immediate comment by the Palestinian Authority, which in recent months has condemned attacks on Israeli civilians.

Israel held Mr Arafat responsible. "The Palestinian Authority is drenched in terror. This terror has seeped into (Palestinian) society," said David Baker, an official in Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's office.

The bus exploded just before 8am (0500 GMT) near the Patt intersection in southern Jerusalem. Ruth Elmaliach, a teacher at a high school near the scene of the explosion, said she was in her car, waiting for the light to change at the junction, when the bomb went off.

"I'm sure our students were on the bus. I saw how the bus blew up. ... The bus is always packed at this hour. ... now we're checking to see if all the students have arrived but I'm afraid some of them have not," she told Israel Radio.

Earlier this week, Israeli Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer said five Palestinian suicide bombers were trying simultaneously to infiltrate Israel to carry out attacks. One bomber blew himself up near an Israeli border police patrol yesterday, killing himself but causing no other injuries.