Suicide bombing at Gaza crossing kills one

GAZA, May 22 (UPI) -- A Palestinian suicide bomber apparently was the only casualty when an explosives-laden truck detonated Thursday on the Gaza-Israel border, officials said.

Islamic Jihad and the Al Aksa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility for the latest attack on Gaza border crossings in recent weeks, The New York Times reported.

Islamic Jihad said the truck carried hundreds of pounds of explosives.

An Israeli military spokeswoman said two other militants in the truck escaped before the explosion.

Israeli air force planes attacked a second vehicle heading out of northern Gaza, reported DEBKAfile.com, a military intelligence Web site based in Jerusalem. The areas around the bomb site were declared a closed military area.

The bombing occurred at the Erez crossing, once the main thoroughfare for Palestinian day laborers working in Israel but now used for humanitarian purposes, the Times said.

Meanwhile, Israeli troops and militants exchanged mortar fire and gunfire at the Sufa crossing to the south, DEBKAfile.com reported. Israel has closed the crossing through which the Gaza residents received basic supplies.