Truck rams into soldier crowd in Jerusalem, 4 dead, about 15 injured (PHOTOS)

Source: RT

January 8, 2017 at 14:53

A truck rammed into a crowd of soldiers in Jerusalem.

A Palestinian has driven a truck into a crowd of soldiers in Jerusalem, killing four people and injuring 17 others. Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu said the attacker, who was shot dead by security forces, may have been a supporter of Islamic State terror group.

“It is a terrorist attack, a ramming attack,” a police spokeswoman said on Israel Radio.

Four people in their 20’s were killed as the truck driver targeted a group of Israeli officer cadets, who just got off the bus at Armon Hanatziv promenade, famous for a panoramic view of the Old City.

The military said that an officer and three officer cadets were among the dead, adding that 17 others were injured. According to the police, three of those killed were females.

Israeli rescue forces work at the scene of a truck ramming incident in Jerusalem January 8, 2017. © Ronen Zvulun © Reuters

The driver was shot and killed in less than a minute after the attack, with soldiers as well as a civilian tour guide armed with a handgun opening fire at the perpetrator.

Health officials has called on Jerusalem residents to donate blood to hospitals, which are reportedly experiencing shortages in the wake of the incident.

Israeli security forces stand guard as medics cover bodies at the site of a ramming attack in Jerusalem on January 8, 2017. © Ahmad Gharabli © AFP

An eyewitness to the incident told Israel Radio that the truck ploughed into a group of soldiers. The vehicle than reversed its direction and ran over the troops again as they were firing at the driver.

Police identified dead the truck driver as a Palestinian from Israeli-annexed East Jerusalem. His uncle, Abu Ali, named him as Fadi Ahmad Hamdan Qunbor, 28, a father of four from the Jabel Mukabar neighbourhood.