Troops on search in Hebron after car bomb attack
Security forces were concerned that a third car bomb left Hebron on Friday and is still at large after two exploded in a failed coordinated West Bank attack.
One car bomb exploded in a gas station at the Gush Etzion intersection and another forced its way into the Karmei Tzur settlement less than a mile away and exploded when a security guard crashed into it to block it.
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West Bank gas station after car bomb detonated there on Friday
(Photo: Shalev Shalom)
Troops set up roadblocks and were conducting searches in the area.
Forces entered the West Bank city, which is considered a stronghold of Hamas to conduct their searches and arrested at least six people. They also uncovered an explosive lab which they destroyed.
The terrorists, both in their 20s, who were killed in the botched mass killing effort were unknown to security forces and did not have any known affiliation to terror groups, leading officials to investigate whether they were financed and directed from abroad.
The attack on Friday, security officials believed was a failed effort to blow up one car first and the second car bomb was to be detonated when emergency teams and troops arrived on the scene. They said the first car's explosion was a mishap and the terrorist driving the car, escaped the vehicle when he noticed it was on fire.
He then turned to the staff at the gas station and the forces present there and tried to attack them before being shot. One person suffered moderate wounds after he was caught in the gunfire.
The second car exploded inside the settlement of Karmei Tzur with the driver inside. The security guard who stopped the car from proceeding suffered light injuries.
Earlier the IDF said it was closing the Abraham Tomb's shrine in Hebron, holy to both Jews and Muslims, as searches were underway after terrorists complicit in Friday's attack
First published: 14:08, 08.31.24