3 Americans Slain in Blast in Gaza Strip

By JOHN F. BURNS

Published: October 16, 2003



EIT LAHIYA, Gaza, Oct. 15 — A powerful remote-controlled bomb detonated beneath an American diplomatic convoy in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, killing three American security specialists assigned to the American Embassy by a private military contractor and wounding an American diplomat. The bombing was the first fatal attack on an official American target since the current Palestinian uprising began three years ago.

The explosion shortly after 10 a.m. hit one of three armored Chevrolet Suburbans carrying American diplomats and a security detail to Gaza City for meetings with Palestinian candidates seeking Fulbright scholarships for graduate studies in the United States.

The bomb was buried in a part of the road where asphalt had been worn away, and the first journalists at the site said they had seen gray wiring with an on-off switch that ran about 200 feet to an abandoned concrete building. The Jerusalem Post later cited Israeli security officials as saying the bomb had contained at least 150 pounds of explosive and had been detonated by a cellphone.

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http://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/16/international/middleeast/16MIDE.html?hp

this occurred almost 24 hours ago, and has been discussed here a lot today. Thanks!

Dookus
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