A roadside bomb that severely wounded a motorist in northern Israel earlier this week was planted by a terrorist who infiltrated the country from Lebanon, security forces revealed on Wednesday.
The perpetrator was killed by Israeli forces while attempting to return to Lebanon, according to authorities.
The Israel Defense Forces has not yet named who it believes
dispatched the terrorist, but it is not ruling out Hezbollah.
On Monday, Shareef ad-Din, 21, from the Israeli Arab town of Salem, was wounded when the explosive device detonated around 6 a.m. The bomb was planted behind a barrier by the side of the road near the Megiddo Junction, some 18 miles southeast of Haifa.
The Megiddo Junction is located 37 miles from the Lebanese border, though traveling by roads would extend the journey by a further 12.5 miles.
An urgent investigation into the incident was opened, led by the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet).
The initial inquiry found that the explosive device was of a design unusual to the area and not seen commonly in Judea and Samaria, said the IDF.
After the blast, the IDF, Shin Bet and Israel Police began a joint manhunt in an effort to catch the terrorist, including the establishment of roadblocks in northern Israel.
A vehicle was stopped at a checkpoint near the village of Ya’ara containing a suspect who was equipped with a suicide bomb vest and a rifle. Israeli security forces shot and killed him.
