WASHINGTON, Feb. 26 (Xinhuanet) -- The United States Saturday strongly condemned Friday's bombing in Israel and urged the Palestinian leadership to bring to justice those responsible for the attack.

    At least four people were killed and 38 others were wounded when a suicide bomber blew himself up Friday night outside a discotheque on a Tel Aviv promenade.

    "I condemn in the strongest possible terms today the bombing in Tel Aviv. I offer our deepest sympathy to the victims of this terrorist attack, their families, and the Israeli people and hope for a speedy recovery to those injured," US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said in a statement posted on the State Department website late Friday.

    "It is essential that Palestinian leaders take immediate, credible steps to find those responsible for this terrorist attack and bring them to justice," the statement said.

    "We understand that the Palestinian leadership has condemned the attack. We now must see actions that send a clear message that terror will not be tolerated," the statement added.

    The death toll from the blast is expected to rise as some of the wounded are in serious or critical condition, medics said. Altogether 17 people have been hospitalized.

    The Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad has claimed responsibility for the attack. Militants in the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades said the Lebanese guerrilla group Hizbollah was also involved. Enditem