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Senior Hamas figure Said Siam killed in airstrike
 ISRAEL has killed one of Hamas's top leaders in Gaza, interior minister Said Siam. He is the most senior Islamist to have been killed in the 20-day-old war in the enclave."Leader Said Siam, his son and his brother fell as martyrs in Gaza," reported Al-Quds television, a Hamas station based in Beirut. A Hamas website confirmed the report. The three died in an Israeli airstrike on the house of Mr Siam's brother north of Gaza City. Mr Siam belonged to the hardline wing of Hamas and had created the Executive Force, a militia that played a key role in the Islamist takeover of Gaza in June 2007. The Israeli military confirmed the strike. "In a joint operation of the IDF (Israeli Defence Forces) and the Shin Beth (internal security) a short while ago, jets attacked a building" in Gaza while Said Siam was inside with his brother Iyad and a third person, an army spokeswoman said. "We identified hitting the target." A bit more detail with two more deaders... 
Hamas' head of general security service Salah Abu Sharah was also killed in the airstrike, as well as the head of its military wing, the al-Qassam Brigades, Mahmoud Watfah.  Six other Palestinians were also killed during the airstrike and 20 people were injured. Siam was killed while hiding at his brother's home in Gaza City. Siam's brother and his son were also killed in the airstrike. "The blood of Said Siam will be a curse on the Zionist entity," said Hamas official Mohammed Nazzal quoted by Arab TV network Al-Jazeera.Siam and Shrakh are the most senior Hamas men to be killed in the Israeli offensive against Gaza. Siam is said to be the number three leader of Hamas in Gaza after Ismail Haniyeh and Mahmoud Zahar. Posted by: tipper 2009-01-15 |
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