Jerusalem bomb blast injures 25

Rescue workers and paramedics following an explosion at a bus stop in Jerusalem. Photo: AP

At least 25 people have been injured in a bomb blast at a crowded bus stop in Jerusalem, apparently the first militant attack in the city in years.

The blast could be heard throughout Jerusalem and blew out the windows of two crowded buses.

Israel's national rescue service said 25 people were injured, including 15 seriously.

Meir Hagid, one of the bus drivers, said he heard a loud explosion as he drove by the site, near the main entrance to Jerusalem and its central bus station.

"I heard the explosion in the bus stop," he said. He halted his vehicle and people got off. He said nobody in his bus was hurt.

Jerusalem suffered dozens of suicide bombings that targeted buses and restaurants during the second Palestinian uprising last decade.

But the attacks have halted in recent years and Jerusalem last experienced a suicide bombing in 2004.

The bombing came amid rising tensions between Israel and the Hamas militant group, which has killed hundreds of Israelis in suicide bombings and other attacks in recent years.

Press Association

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Gaddafi 'attacking civilians' despite allied military action

THE head of US forces in Libya claimed yesterday that Col Muammar Gaddafi was continuing to attack civilians despite the allied military intervention.

Adml Samuel Locklear, who has joint responsibility for enforcing the no-fly zone, said that, according to US intelligence, Gaddafi had launched attacks on the rebel-held western city of Misrata, where four children were reportedly killed by shelling yesterday.

"It's my judgment that, despite our success, Gaddafi and his forces are not yet complying with the UN resolution due to the continued aggressive actions his forces have taken against the civilian population of Libya," he said.

His comments followed reports that Misrata was under siege by Gaddafi's forces. Tanks and snipers have been deployed to the city centre, killing more than 40 people and injuring 300.

Doctors described desperate scenes as hospitals struggled to cope with the number of injured. Surgeons were forced to operate on bullet and shrapnel wounds in hospital corridors because of a lack of space.

One doctor, speaking on condition of anonymity, said: "They are talking about a ceasefire, they are talking about a no-fly zone, for me that does not mean anything. My people here are under attack.

"In my hospital here, we have no electricity and we work with a generator. We are relieved to hear about the air strikes and the coalition forces, but on the ground we are dying every day."

Another doctor said: "Snipers are everywhere in Misrata, shooting anyone who walks by while the world is still watching. The situation is going from bad to worse. We can do nothing but wait. Sometimes we depend on one meal per day."

The dead children, two boys and two girls, were reportedly being driven out of the city when their car was hit by a shell. The oldest was 13.

"It's horrible. Their father has collapsed and is in total shock," said Saadoun, a resident.

Shelter

Gaddafi's forces were also trying to seize the western town of Zintan, near the Tunisian border, and launched attacks using heavy weapons. Many residents have already fled the town centre to seek shelter in mountain caves.

Several houses and a mosque minaret were destroyed by shelling.

Abdulrahmane Daw, a resident, said: "New forces were sent today to besiege the city. There are now at least 40 tanks at the foothills of the mountains near Zintan."

There was also fighting in the rebel-held town of Yafran, south-west of Tripoli, where at least nine people were reported to have died. One resident said: "We had been waiting for the coalition to stop the advance of Gaddafi's battalion.

"In the absence of such an intervention, the regime wanted to take the city quickly by bombarding it and carrying out massacres."

Despite the international intervention, the rebels had made little progress yesterday, raising concerns about their organisation and leadership. In eastern Libya they remained stationed outside Ajdabiyah, having made no further advance on the strategic town.

Ahmed al-Alroufi, a rebel fighter, said: "Gaddafi has tanks and trucks with missiles. We don't depend on anyone but God, not France or America. We started this revolution without them through the sweat of our own brow, and that is how we will finish it."

Adml Locklear added that Qatar's air forces would be "up and flying" by the weekend, making it the first Arab state to help enforce the no-fly zone. (? Daily Telegraph, London)

- Steven Swinford in Misrata

Irish Independent

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Gaddafi son 'dies in attack'

ONE of Muammar Gaddafi's sons is believed to have been killed in an air strike on the Libyan leader's compound in the heart of Tripoli.

Khamis Gaddafi, the dictators's sixth son, died in the attack which destroyed a three-storey administrative building, according to Arab newspaper reports.

Conflicting reports suggested that he was killed when a Libyan pilot deliberately crashed his plane into a barracks, but this claim was denied by sources in the capital.

Coalition forces bombarded Libya for a third straight night last night, targeting the air defences and forces loyal to Libyan ruler Col Gaddafi, stopping his advances and handing some momentum back to the rebels, who were on the verge of defeat just last week.

US President Barack Obama said the United States expects to hand over military leadership to its allies within days once the initial phase -- knocking out air defences to support the no-fly zone -- is complete.

However, Libyan anti-aircraft guns were in action in Tripoli for the third night, suggesting that the coalition was still some distance from the effective no-fly zone that it is aiming to achieve.

And ground forces loyal to Col Gaddafi were still fighting to gain and hold territory. They launched a fresh onslaught on Misrata, the last rebel stronghold in the western part of the country. Residents said water supplies had been cut off and government troops had encircled the city.

One resident suggested that the pro-Gaddafi forces were deploying human shields from nearby towns in the city, and claimed that when civilians had gathered in the centre of the town to confront the forces, they "started shooting at them with artillery and guns. The hospital told us that at least nine people were killed".

The British RAF backed up the claim that human shields were being deployed throughout Libya, admitting that a 3,000-mile mission to bomb Libya was aborted minutes from the targets on Sunday night because of reports that civilians were in the area.

INNOCENT

Major General John Lorimer, strategic communications officer to the British Chief of Defence Staff, said the decision to call the mission off illustrated the coalition's determination to "take all measures possible to reduce the chance of harming innocent civilians".

It remained unclear whether Col Gaddafi was using them as human shields.

The British Ministry of Defence denied reports that Royal Marines from 40 Commando had been put on five days' notice to leave for the Mediterranean.

In Cairo yesterday, Libyans infuriated by the international military intervention blocked the path of the UN secretary-general, Ban Ki-Moon, after his meeting with the Arab League secretary-general, Amr Moussa, who has been increasingly restive about the western attacks to impose a no-fly zone that his organisation backed 11 days ago.

The Libyans, carrying pictures of Col Gaddafi and banners criticising the intervention, stopped Mr Ban from walking round Tahrir Square, the scene of the protests which toppled Hosni Mubarak and helped to stimulate the uprising in Libya itself.

Meanwhile, four 'New York Times' journalists who had been held for six days after being detained in the east of the country were released yesterday. Bill Keller, executive editor of the newspaper, said that the paper was "overjoyed".

- Donald Macintyre in Tripoli

Irish Independent

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