Border guards bust West Bank cell that made pipe bombs

Border Police officers arrested two people overnight Monday in the Palestinian town of Abu Dis on suspicion that they ran a pipe-bomb-making operation, the Israel Police said.

Spokeswoman Luba Samri said the workshop in which the suspects were arrested was used to make some 30 pipe bombs used in attacks against security forces since the beginning of the year.

Officers found a large quantity of materials used in the production of pipe bombs at the site, including fuses, plugs, pipes and firecrackers, Samri said.

The police commander in charge of the investigation said that the workshop was one of the largest discovered during the past year and that it produced a large number of pipe bombs that were sold and subsequently used to target members of the security forces.

The two suspects, both of whom were described as residents of Abu Dis in their 20s, were questioned after their arrests.

Police said that additional arrests will be likely be made in connection with the case.