Terrorist who shot and wounded soldiers nabbed after months-long manhunt

After nearly nine months on the run, Maher Asayed was finally arrested by security forces.

By Lauren Marcus, World Israel News

A terrorist who participated in a shooting attack on a bus carrying IDF soldiers that wounded several was arrested by security forces overnight Wednesday, following a manhunt that lasted almost nine months.

Maher al-Sayeed, 50, was detained in a collaborative operation between the Israeli army, Shin Bet intelligence agency, and the special forces Yamam unit, the authorities said in a statement on Thursday morning.

Al-Sayeed was reportedly arrested in the town of Bukin, a small Palestinian Authority-controlled municipality near Jenin. He was transferred into the custody of the Shin Bet.

In September 2022, l-Sayeed, along with his son and nephew, opened fire on a bus full of IDF soldiers as it traveled on an isolated stretch of Road 578 in the Jordan Valley. Two soldiers were shot and evacuated to the hospital, with one in serious condition and the other categorized as being lightly wounded.

Both soldiers have fully recovered since the attack.

Another four soldiers and the driver of the bus were lightly wounded from glass, shrapnel, and the bus’s sudden braking during the attack.

“The attack was committed by a cell driving a pickup truck, which overtook the bus and opened fire, and attempted to set it on fire,” Col. Meir Biderman, the commander of the 417th territorial brigade, said in a media statement in September 2022.

“The soldiers on the bus returned fire, which caused the terrorists to flee.”

Asayed fled the scene with his accomplices in a vehicle, which they later torched in an attempt to hide evidence.

Al-Sayeed’s co-conspirators were caught near the scene of the attack and burning car and immediately taken into custody, but Asayed successfully fled on foot and has been the subject of a manhunt ever since.

IDF soldiersJordan ValleyPalestinian terrorShin Bet