Suicide bomber 'smiled as he killed'

Islamic Jihad said its agent Lofti Abu Saada carried out the attack in Netanya that killed five people. Picture / Reuters

NETANYA - Witnesses to a suicide bombing that killed five people have described how the attacker smiled before he detonated his explosives outside a shopping centre.

The militant group Islamic Jihad said it carried out the attack to avenge Israel's recent killings of senior members, and released a video of the bomber, Lofti Abu Saada.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon approved a series of military responses to the attack.

Security sources said these would include assassinations of Islamic Jihad leaders in the West Bank and Gaza, raids in the West Bank and tightened restrictions on Palestinian movement.

Yisrael Klein told Channel Two television that he "saw a flash and then heard a boom".

"Seconds later, people were lying on the ground, some wounded and some dead," he said. "The most horrific sight was the severed head of the terrorist."

The bombing was the first since October 26, when an Islamic Jihad suicide bomber killed six people in Hadera. Israel then responded with missile strikes that killed senior militants and detained dozens of militants in West Bank raids.

Palestinians accuse Israel of provoking violence with incursions and building inside settlements in the West Bank.

- REUTERS