Three people were killed and one injured when a suicide bomber blew himself up on Monday morning in the Israeli port city of Eilat, on the Red Sea Coast.
The bombing, which occurred in a small bakery in a residential neighborhood, was initially believed to have been caused by a gas cylinder explosion rather than a bomber, according to Haaretz.
Approximately one hour after the incident, however, police concluded that the cause of the blast had in fact been a suicide bomber. The bomber reportedly entered the bakery with an explosives belt and detonated the bomb once inside. Witnesses interviewed by Israeli radio stations said body parts were strewn throughout the bakery.
Three separate Palestinian groups have reportedly claimed responsibility for the attack: Islamic Jihad, al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades and a previously unknown group calling itself the Army of Believers.
The resort city of Eilat in southern Israel has largely been spared such attacks, which generally occur in more central areas of the country, though attempts to target Israelis have occurred from the adjacent port city of Aqaba, in Jordan.
Monday's suicide attack was the first in Israel since April 2006, when a suicide bomber killed eight people in Tel Aviv.
© 2007 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
