At least 16 injured in Jerusalem bulldozer rampage

JERUSALEM, July 22 (Xinhua) -- At least 16 people were injured in a bulldozer rampage before its driver was shot dead in Jerusalem on Tuesday, local daily Ha'aretz reported.

The yellow bulldozer struck a bus and at least two cars during the minutes-long rampage which happened in the downtown area in the afternoon, and the bulldozer driver was shot dead on the scene, said Jerusalem police.

At least 16 people, including women and children, were injured in the incident, the report said.

The attacker was identified as Hassan Abu-Tir, a resident of the Tuba village in east Jerusalem, who held an Israeli identity card, said the newspaper.

"The bulldozer driver left a construction site, and hit two cars," Ha'aretz quoted a police officer as saying.

A civilian who saw what was happening shot him, but the bulldozer continued on its way until a border police patrol continued to shoot the driver and killed him, according to the officer.

Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said police has sealed off possible escape routes into east Jerusalem and are searching for two suspects who fled the scene.

Israeli police and rescue services rushed to the scene, which is several hundred meters away from a luxury hotel where U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama is supposed to stay Tuesday night as he begins a visit to Israel.

Helicopters were seen hovering in the sky, and sirens were heard across the central area.

Jerusalem witnessed a similar attack earlier this month when a bulldozer went on a deadly rampage, ramming into several cars and knocking over a crowded bus, killing three people and injuring dozens.