Bomb in Jerusalem; US warns citizens

THE U.S. Consulate General in Jerusalem has warned its citizens in the city to avoid the area around the central bus station following an explosion there shortly after 3:00 p.m. local time. It also advised U.S. citizens to exercise "appropriate caution and security awareness" following the bombing.
The bomb exploded Wednesday at a crowded bus stop outside the International Convention Center, just opposite the central bus station. A 59-year-old woman was killed and at least 30 people were wounded in the incident, three of them seriously.
The blast could be heard throughout Jerusalem and blew out the windows of city bus No. 74. The one kg. explosive device was apparently hidden in a bag next to a telephone pole. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu canceled a scheduled trip to Moscow after the bombing.

COMMENT: The bombing occurred just hours after Gaza militants fired two Grad-type Katyusha rocket at the southern city of Be'er Sheva and a barrage of mortar shells on the western Negev.
Jerusalem has been hit by a number of terror attacks over the last few years. The capital suffered dozens of suicide bombings that targeted buses and restaurants during the second Palestinian uprising last decade. Jerusalem last experienced a suicide bombing in 2004.