TEL AVIV, April 12: A suicide bomber blew herself up near a crowded market in occupied Al Quds on Friday, killing six Israelis and wounding nearly 90, as US Secretary of State Colin Powell toured the area on his quest for peace.

“It sounded like a mountain exploded. The ground was moving. People ran away, screaming,” a municipal worker said.

The powerful blast left victims strewn in pools of blood and charred vegetables and fruit scattered amid broken glass.

Powell got a bird’s eye view of the mayhem from aboard a military helicopter. He was taking off on an aerial tour of the tense Israel-Lebanon border when the blast occurred and made a detour to fly over the scene.

The explosion rocked the holy city just hours after Powell held talks there with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on ending a two-week-old offensive in the West Bank — something the Israeli leader has refused to do despite repeated US demands.

“I condemn the terrorists for this act,” Powell said while talking to reporters. “It illustrates the dangerous situation that exists here.”

The Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, a group linked to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat’s Fatah movement, claimed responsibility, Hezbollah’s Al Manar television reported.

“Apparently it was a female suicide bomber... we are talking about a young woman,” a police official said.

He said she had headed for the Mahane Yehuda open-air market — a frequent target of suicide bombers — where crowds were busy shopping before the start of the Jewish Sabbath at sundown.

But he said she apparently changed course upon seeing police guarding the market’s entrance. “She set off her bomb at a bus stop when a bus came to let off passengers,” the police official said. “She set off a very powerful bomb.”

At least three other Palestinian women, one no more than 18 years old, have carried out suicide bombings against Israelis during the 18-month-old uprising against occupation.

The latest attack raised more questions about Sharon’s contention that the army onslaught in the West Bank was preventing new attacks on Israelis. A suicide bombing on a bus near Haifa on Wednesday killed eight Israelis.

NO AGREEMENT: In initial talks with Sharon, Powell failed to secure a firm timetable for an end to Israel’s crushing military campaign.