A day after Republican National Convention speakers Mayor Giuliani and Senator McCain praised President Bush for his courage in the war against Islamist terrorism, deadly bursts of violence erupted in Israel, Russia, and Iraq.

Suicide attackers in the southern Israeli city of Beersheba slaughtered 16 bus riders and wounded dozens in almost simultaneous bombings. Hamas claimed responsibility for the blasts and said it was vengeance for Israel’s assassinations of Hamas leader Sheik Ahmed Yassin and his successor Abdel Aziz Rantisi in March and April. Hundreds of Palestininian Arabs took to the streets in the West Bank and Gaza Strip to celebrate the bombings, the Jerusalem Post reported. Prime Minister Sharon met with security advisers to plan a response.

In Russia, a female suicide bomber killed 10 people and wounded more than 50 outside a busy Moscow subway station. The attack comes on the heels of twin jetliner crashes last week that Russian authorities say were terrorist bombings.

In Iraq, 12 men from Nepal who worked as cooks and cleaners were executed on video by terrorists who had taken them hostage three weeks ago. One of the victims was decapitated and the other 11 men were shot, according to the Associated Press.