Soldier hurt in apparent terror attack

Man stabs soldier on Ramat Gan bus before fleeing; victim evacuated to hospital in moderate condition.

By YAAKOV LAPPIN
dan bus terror attack 248 88 (photo credit: AP [file])
dan bus terror attack 248 88
(photo credit: AP [file])
A soldier is in moderate condition after being stabbed in the neck in Ramat Gan on Sunday evening, in what could be a terrorist attack. Police said the attacker followed the soldier as he was getting off a No. 67 bus, before stabbing him and fleeing the scene. The soldier was rushed to Tel Aviv's Sourasky Medical Center (Ichilov). "The motive for the attack is unclear at this stage," a Tel Aviv police spokesman told The Jerusalem Post. "We don't yet know what the background is. We do have a description of the suspect and we have launched a hunt for him." "All lines of inquiry are being followed," Tel Aviv police said in a statement. Large police forces were searching for the suspect, with a police helicopter taking part. Dozens of Palestinians in Israel illegally were arrested in the Tel Aviv area following the attack, a police source told the Post. Immediately after the stabbing, eyewitnesses reported hearing screams from near the back door of the bus, and then seeing a soldier with a knife sticking out of his neck. There does not appear to have been a dispute between the two before the assault. The attacker reportedly has a "Middle Eastern" complexion. Magen David Adom paramedics reported treating the soldier for a stab wound to his neck, under his ear. The victim was fully conscious, they added.