Man injured in gangland car bombing

One man was injured when the car he was riding in exploded on a highway in northern Israel early Thursday morning, in what police are calling a possible attempted mob hit.

Local police in Nahariya said the explosion was likely connected to organized crime and not terrorism.

The car bombing, a signature gangland style assassination method, came amid a major police operation to crack down on organized crime in the country, involving dozens of arrests and indictments linked to past car bombings.

One Thursday, Assi Abutbul, a suspected crime boss caught up in the raid, told prison officials he tried to kill himself while locked up.

The bombing occurred at approximately 6 a.m. outside of Shavei Zion, a moshav outside of the northern city of Nahariya.

An explosive device planted in the vehicle caused the bombing, police told the Haaretz news outlet.

The victim was not named, but his age was reported as in his 20s. He suffered moderate injuries and was hospitalized in stable condition, police said.

The attack was believed to be an assassination attempt as part of an ongoing war between the Michael Mor crime family and his once-ally Shmulik Harush, police told Ynet.

Police last week began cracking down on organized crime as the result of a multi-year investigation, dubbed “Case 512,” which has been described as one of the largest underworld busts in Israel’s history, encompassing some 40 individual investigations into crimes committed over the past 12 years by some 60 suspects.

Officials have vowed to crackdown on organized crime last year, following a spate of car bombings that rocked parts of Israel.

Abutbul, who was charged earlier this week with two murders, told his jailers that he attempted suicide Thursday morning. Abutbul is currently serving a 13-year sentence for other crimes.

Prison guards found superficial cuts and other signs of self-harm on Abutbul, Channel 2 news reported.

His suicide attempt was a cry for help, a source close to Abutbul told the news site. “He’s already been in jail for 9 years and thought that he was starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel,” the source said. “And then they put this on him.”

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.