Two of the three terrorists who attacked a bus carrying Israeli soldiers in the Jordan Valley on Sunday are now patients themselves in the burn unit of Tel Hashomer Medical Center.
Jordan Valley: Terrorists Shoot at Bus, Several Injured
One soldier was seriously injured in the attack, and six others sustained lighter wounds. The condition of the seriously wounded soldier has since improved — he has stabilized, and is now listed in fair condition at Haifa’s Rambam Medical Center, hospital officials said Sunday evening.
תיעוד: השניות לפני פיגוע הירי בבקעת הירדן – רכב המחבלים עוקב אחרי האוטובוס שמסיע חיילים@carmeldangor pic.twitter.com/7A1h4ZddmD
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All three of the terrorists were members of the same family — a father, son and nephew — with the father, an Israeli citizen, carrying a blue ID card. Two of three — the son and nephew — were captured.
A preliminary investigation found the van in which the terrorists were traveling was driving behind the bus and then overtook it, opening fire at the driver and recruits. The bus driver, who was hit by bullets, stopped the bus on the side of the road — and the terrorists poured fuel on the vehicle and tried to set it alight. More than 20 bullets were fired at the bus, with much of the shooting aimed at the windshield.
The attackers, who then lit a Molotov cocktail in their car — and were burned when the car caught fire from the firebomb they intended to throw at the bus. They abandoned their vehicle and fled.
Two of the terrorists were captured by IDF soldiers and police officers called to the scene, and who seized the weapons in their possession.
“After a few minutes of searching, we identified two suspects and approached them, ordering them in Arabic to come to us,” police officer Eric Nahum told Israel’s Channel 12 News.
“When they did, we realized they were burned — nearly charred, in fact. We ordered them both to lay down on the ground, and carried out the arrest and preliminary investigation — were they connected to the car? Did they shoot? Did they carry out the attack? Both admitted to the incident and said they were connected to the attack.”
Both confessed their roles in the terror attack, and were transferred to Shin Bet intelligence agents for further questioning, albeit in the hospital.
One of the terrorists, identified as 50-year-old Maher al-Said, is an Israeli citizen from the Galilee community of Jadeida-Makar east of Akko. He fled the scene and is still being hunted.
Security forces are continuing to search the area for that third suspect, named as 50-year-old Maher al-Said, and other suspects linked to the attack.
Israel Police raised its alert level nationwide following the attack, and police forces are being deployed throughout the country to carry out ongoing security activities in sensitive and crowded areas.
