From Ian:
Man stabbed to death in apparent terror attack named as IDF soldier
Man stabbed to death in apparent terror attack named as IDF soldier
The 19-year-old Israeli stabbed to death at a bus station in an apparent terror attack in the southern city of Arad on Thursday night was an IDF soldier, the Israeli army said late Thursday.Leaders vow to catch attacker who killed soldier amid large manhunt
The soldier, whose name was not initially cleared for publication, was later identified as Ron Yitzhak Kokia, of Tel Aviv. He was posthumously promoted to sergeant.
Kokia served in the Nahal Brigade, an infantry unit whose home base is located just outside Arad.
On Thursday night, police said officers were searching the area for two assailants who fled the scene and set up roadblocks and “heightened security measures” in the area. Helicopters were also taking part in the searches.
The fact that the victim of the soldier and eyewitness testimony, along with other evidence, led police to suspect that the stabbing was a terror attack.
“Following an initial investigation by police forces at the scene it appears that the motivation for the stabbing … was nationalistic,” police said in a statement.
According to the Ynet news website, the soldier was waiting for a ride when he was attacked.
Police were investigating the possibility the soldier’s weapon was stolen by the assailants.
Israel’s leaders vowed that the attacker who killed an IDF soldier at a bus station in the southern city of Arad on Thursday night would be caught, as police continued a large-scale manhunt for the assailant Friday morning.
Nahal Brigade Sergeant Ron Yitzhak Kokia, 19, was stabbed to death Thursday night in an apparent terror attack while waiting for a bus near a shopping mall.
Police said forces in large numbers were carrying out searches overnight and into Friday morning in the Arad area to locate the assailant or assailants, publishing pictures of searches in agricultural fields and animal sheds.
They also said extra police had been deployed in Arad following the attack.
“This morning police were deployed at key locations and classrooms through the city to ensure that normal life continues,” a statement from the police read.
Police earlier said officers were searching the area for two assailants who fled the scene and set up roadblocks and “heightened security measures” in the area. Helicopters were also taking part in the search.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said security forces were working to capture the attackers.
“They will be brought to justice and we will continue to fight terror with all our strength,” he wrote on Facebook, offering condolences to Kokia’s family.
















