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Bomb attack at Gaza-Israel border | Bomb attack at Gaza-Israel border |
(30 minutes later) | |
Palestinian militants have launched a truck-bomb attack on the main border crossing between Gaza and Israel. | Palestinian militants have launched a truck-bomb attack on the main border crossing between Gaza and Israel. |
The bomber is reported to have been killed in the blast near the entrance to the Erez crossing, but there are no other reports of casualties. | |
Witnesses said they saw the truck driving at speed towards the crossing, along with a jeep carrying gunmen. | |
Two Palestinian groups, Islamic Jihad and the Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, say they jointly carried out the attack. | Two Palestinian groups, Islamic Jihad and the Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, say they jointly carried out the attack. |
A statement from Islamic Jihad said the truck driver and suicide bomber was a 23-year old man, Ibrahim Nasser, from Jabalya in northern Gaza. | |
The statement said the truck, packed with explosives, blew up prematurely, a few hundred metres from the crossing. | |
Israeli television said soldiers had fired on the truck, preventing it from getting too close to the checkpoint. | |
Gunmen driving in a jeep behind the truck opened fire on the checkpoint, according to witnesses, but they fled when their vehicle overturned. Israeli military radio said the jeep had been fired on by an Israeli helicopter. | |
Islamic Jihad had previously threatened to carry out such attacks if Israel did not end its blockade of Gaza. |