Blast in Tel Aviv seen as criminal, not terrorist, act

TEL AVIV, Israel An explosion went off in a car near a bus in Tel Aviv on Thursday in what police said was a criminally motivated assassination attempt. Four people were slightly injured.

In a country with a long history of bus bombings by Palestinian militants, such explosions immediately cause jitters about terrorism. And the explosion went off close to the site of a bus bombing in November.

Israeli media offered various reports of how the blast occurred. Some cited witnesses as saying a motorcyclist tossed an explosive device at the car, and other witnesses as saying the motorcyclist attached a bomb to the vehicle.

Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said he couldn't confirm Israeli media reports that the target was a well-known underworld figure.