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IDF confirms killing Islamic Jihad gunman in Gaza
An Islamic Jihad militant died in a clash with Israel Defense Forces troops and Israel Air Force jets struck two targets in Gaza early Monday as mediators tried to firm up a long-term Gaza cease-fire a day before Israelis go to the polls in a national election. Islamic Jihad said in a statement faxed to reporters that one of its fighters was killed overnight in an Israeli airstrike. The IDF said troops spotted an armed militant trying to cross the Gaza-Israel border late Sunday and opened fire, after which a bomb belt he was wearing detonated. Islamic Jihad had earlier said the man killed was on a mission to attack an Israeli patrol along the border with the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, the Islamic Jihad group said. The IDF denied that tank fire or strikes of any kind were carried out around the time of the man's death, and the circumstances of the incident remained unclear. Islamic Jihad said the Palestinian killed near the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanoun belonged to its armed wing and that he was part of a squad that had planned to attack Israeli troops along the frontier. Earlier on Monday, the Israel Air Force hit two Hamas positions in Gaza in response to rocket attacks on Israel launched by militants in the coastal strip on the preceding day, the army said. Posted by: Fred 2009-02-10 |
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