Car Bomb in Haifa Seriously Wounds Two; Gang Related Violence Blamed

In what appears to be gang related violence, a car bomb seriously injured two people in Haifa, Israel on Friday.

Edited by: JV Staff

According to a TOI report, witnesses at the scene of the heinous attack said that the powerful explosion was heard from several blocks away. Video footage of the arrack showed the car erupting in a large orange fireball.

TOI has reported that a 33-year-old man and his 35-year-old girlfriend were taken to the city’s Rambam Medical Center after the explosive device blew up their vehicle as they drove down Haifa’s busy Hanasi Street just before 1 p.m.

Police have opened an investigation into the blast, but investigators believe it is mob-related and not a terror attack, according to published reports.

The Hebrew-language media has reported that the male victim is known to police and was the target of a car bombing in Eilat last month. His most recent criminal conviction, linked to a stabbing in a Haifa nightclub, came earlier this year.

Drive-by shootings and car bombs as part of underworld gang wars have long wracked Israeli cities, with law enforcement authorities struggling to stem the phenomenon, according to the TOI report.