Hamas claims responsibility for deadly bomb attack on Tel Aviv
Jerusalem, Aug 19: Hamas and another Palestinian group claimed responsibility on Monday for what appeared to be a failed bombing attack in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv that killed the attacker and wounded a bystander.
The blast late on Sunday came as mediators were working on a cease-fire agreement in the devastating Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. The bomb appeared to have gone off before it was intended, and it was unclear whether the attacker planned to carry out a suicide attack or plant the explosives and set them off remotely.
Tel Aviv's district police commander, Deputy Commissioner Peretz Amar, told reporters the blast occurred a few metres (yards) from a synagogue filled with people at evening prayers.
The fact that the bomb appears to have gone off prematurely, outside on the street, helped avoid “a very real tragedy” that could have had many fatalities and inflicted major damage, he said.
Amar said the suspect, who was captured in security footage walking down the street wearing a large backpack, was not previously known to police and they are working to identify where he came from and if he received any additional support.
Israeli police and the Shin Bet security agency said in a joint statement the blast was an attack that involved “a powerful explosive”.
In a statement on Monday, Hamas said it and the smaller Palestinian Islamic Jihad group were responsible for the blast and threatened to continue attacking “as long as the occupation's massacres, displacement of civilians, and the continuation of the assassination policy continues”.
The statement appeared to refer to recent strikes attributed to Israel that have killed senior Hamas members, as well as the war in Gaza, which was ignited by Hamas' October 7 attack into Israel.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Emotional tributes paid to cops killed in blast at gunpowder dump of Maoists in Chhattisgarh
Narayanpur (Chhattisgarh) (PTI): Emotional scenes were witnessed on Sunday as wreaths were laid on the mortal remains of three of the four police personnel killed in an explosion in a gunpowder dump of Maoists in Chhattisgarh's Kanker district.
The grieving family members were inconsolable, while security personnel tried to comfort them.
Amid chants of "Bharat Mata ki Jai" and "Vande Mataram," public representatives, along with senior police and administrative officials, paid tributes to the deceased personnel.
The wreath-laying ceremony to pay homage to Inspector Sukhram Vatti (40), constables Krishna Komra (35) and Sanjay Gadhpale (29), killed in the explosion on Saturday, was held at the Police Lines in Narayanpur district, neighbouring Kanker.
The mortal remains of constable Parmanand Komra (29), who succumbed to injuries during treatment in Raipur, will be shifted to Kanker, where a separate wreath-laying ceremony will be held, police said.
Inspector General of Police, Bastar Range, Sundarraj Pattilingam, after paying homage, told reporters that the four police personnel made the supreme sacrifice while protecting the region.
"I pay my homage to them," he added.
The four personnel were killed while they were attempting to dispose of a gunpowder dump hidden earlier by Maoists in a forest near Aadnar village under Chhotebethiya police station limits in Kanker district, according to police.
It was the first explosion linked to Naxalites in the state since it was declared free from armed Maoists on March 31, and also the first instance this year in which security personnel engaged in anti-Naxal operations lost their lives.
District Reserve Guard (DRG) official Vatti, who was leading the team, hailed from Bijapur district. Constable Krishna Komra of the district force and constables Gadhpale and Parmanand Komra of the Bastar Fighters were residents of different villages in Kanker.
