Large car bomb in Haifa found

A major car bombing was averted on 21 March 2009 at the Lev Hamifratz shopping mall in the northern port city of Haifa. A mall employee notified local authorities after hearing an explosion at approximately 2030 local time; the explosion was meant to trigger a larger detonation, but the majority of the 220 lb/100 kg of material in the vehicle failed to explode. Upon further inspection, security forces discovered that the vehicle contained multiple bombs packed with metal balls, and bomb disposal experts were called in to defuse the car bomb. The mall was evacuated, but reopened on 22 March.