Israeli rescue workers search the scene after an explosion outside an army base near Tel Aviv

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, September 9 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - Few hours after Israeli forces stormed the West Bank town of Al-Khalil (Hebron) and killed three Palestinians, including the local head of Hamas' military wing and one of his aides, six Israeli soldiers were killed and 15 others wounded in a bombing attack Tuesday, September 9.

At least seven people, including the bomber, were killed ion the attack and 15 were wounded, Israeli national police spokesman Gil Kleiman told reporters.

The explosion went off in front of a bus stop near the Tzrifin Israeli Defense Force base, 15 kilometers south-east of Tel Aviv, frequently used by Israeli soldiers from the nearby military base, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Police, who were checking the possibility that the bomber was a woman, evacuated bystanders from the scene of the attack, fearing additional explosive devices might have been placed there, reported the Israeli Haaretz daily on its website.

Police cars chased a vehicle spotted fleeing the site of the bombing shortly after the attack took place, supposedly heading north towards Netanya, it added.

One of the bodies

According to the Israeli daily, emergency rescue workers at the scene of the attack found the body believed to be that of the bomber.

It is the first attack in Israel since a failed assassination attempt by Israeli gunships against the spiritual of the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and senior political leader Ismail Haneya, said AFP.

Israeli security forces have been on high alert since then after Sheikh Yassin vowed heavy price for the Israeli air strike.

The attack on the aging crippled spiritual leader of Hamas was part of a series of air strikes carried out by the Israeli military against the political leaders of the Palestinian resistance movement.

Israeli public television reported that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who is currently on an official visit to India, had been informed of the attack and had not ruled out cutting short his visit.

Israel immediately held Palestinian President Yasser Arafat and the resistance movement Hamas responsible for the bombing.

"We will continue our battle against Hamas and the leaders of Hamas as they are the people responsible for this slaughter today," Israeli government spokesman Avi Pazner told AFP.

"But we also hold Arafat and the Palestinian Authority responsible for what has happened today," he added.

Without claiming responsibility for the attack, Hamas senior political leader Abdel Aziz Rantisi asserted it was a response to Israeli "crimes".

"Whoever is responsible, this attack is part of a response to the Zionist crimes - to the assassinations, to the assassination attempts and to the incursions," he told AFP.