JERUSALEM, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- A teenage boy was killed and at least 14 others injured in two separate explosions in Jerusalem early Wednesday.
The police referred to the explosions as "a combined terror attack," and identified the fatality as a 16-year-old Canadian citizen who was a student at a Yeshiva (Jewish seminary) in Jerusalem and succumbed to his wounds in hospital shortly after the blast.
The blasts were caused by explosive devices, the police said in a statement. One went off at a bus stop near the entrance of the city, a crowded spot where dozens of commuters were waiting for buses in the morning hours. The other occurred less than one hour later at a bus station in Ramot, a settlement neighborhood of Jerusalem.
Eli Bin, director-general of Israel's Magen David Adom emergency medical service, told reporters that at least 14 others were wounded, with some of them being in serious condition.
Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid held a security assessment meeting with senior security officials, his office said in a statement.
The state-owned Kan TV reported that the police suspected the devices were activated via mobile phones.
Police Chief Kobi Shabtai told reporters at the scene that the devices were possibly placed by two assailants, or more.
"This is a complex event with features we haven't seen for many years," Shabtai said, referring to a wave of bomb attacks by Palestinian militants that shook Israeli cities during 1993-2009.
Shabtai said police forces were scanning bus stops and buses throughout the city for possible additional explosive devices and urged citizens to be alert for suspicious packages.
The attacks came as Israeli Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu is holding talks to form a new coalition government after his Likud party's far-right allies won the parliamentary election.
In the 1967 Middle East war, Israel occupied the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem, all claimed by the Palestinians, and has controlled or blockaded these areas ever since. ■
