At least 16 people were killed and more than 90 wounded yesterday when Palestinian suicide bombers struck two buses in the southern desert city of Beersheba. They detonated their devices within seconds of each other as the blue buses took passengers home from the city centre on a sweltering afternoon. One bus burst into flames, billowing thick, grey smoke; the other had all its windows pulverised and roof blown off. Commentators predicted swift retribution against Hamas, which claimed responsibility in leaflets distributed in Hebron, 26 miles away across the West Bank border. "This is only a spark out of a volcano that will never be extinguished," the leaflets said.
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