'Gangland' bomb kills one in Israel: police

A bomb in Tel Aviv killed one person and wounded two bystanders on Monday, police said, in what Israeli media described as a gangland assassination.

"A criminal explosion took place," police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said.

"A bomb planted near or underneath a car exploded. A person who was inside the car was killed and two bystanders were injured," he said.

"We don't have the identity of the person but we can confirm it was a criminal incident," he added.

The Haaretz daily said on its website that the bombing was believed to be a settling of accounts among rival gangs. There have been a number of deadly attacks in Israel's criminal underworld in recent years.

Earlier, an Israeli emergency service said an explosion tore through a bus, but a police spokesman said police only had reports of a car accident in which a vehicle went up in flames.

Israeli Army Radio said there was an explosion near a bus stop in the city and that it apparently was carried out by ordinary criminals and was not a Palestinian attack.