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Fatah: Ashdod Port bombers used tunnels to cross Gaza
JPost Reg Reqâd - EFL and newsA Fatah leader said Monday that the two suicide bombers who blew themselves up in the Ashdod Port on Sunday, killing 10 Israelis, used underground tunnels to cross into Israel from the Gaza Strip. The assailants also evaded tight security at the port and used high-grade plastic explosives. Ten Israelis were killed and 16 wounded, one critically, in the Ashdod attack late Sunday afternoon at Ashdod Port, a site considered to be one of the most sensitive, strategic, and supposedly heavily guarded locations in the country. A militant leader in Gaza said the bombers had intended to blow up fuel storage tanks in Ashdod, One Al Aqsa leader in Gaza, who identified himself only as Abu Qusay, said that "this is a message to the Israelis that all their walls and fences cannot prevent us from infiltrating Israel and doing whatever we want." Abu Qusay said the terror groups were trying to carry out more devastating attacks. "We planned this attack to be a major one, to target their infrastructure, to show them that not only can we kill you, but destroy your infrastructure as well, like you destroy ours," he said. IAF gunships carried out missile strikes against Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip early Monday morning in retaliation for the double suicide bombing. The military confirmed the missile strikes, saying the targets were used to manufacture weapons and Kassam and mortar shell rockets. One of the buildings was located in the Nasser neighborhood and another in the Zeitoun neighborhood, Palestinians reported one person wounded from the attack. Israel will also intensify targeted killings of Palestinians in retaliation for the Ashdod port attack, a senior official said. In the hours after the bombing, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon consulted with his army chief of General Staff over a response to the bombing. Sharon is waiting for the return of Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz from a US trip later Monday to decide on possible larger-scale retaliation, a security official said. Security officials believe the two planned to launch a mega-terrorist attack and blow themselves up near the portâs bromine tanks, or other hazardous materials stored there. Had the terrorists succeeded in blowing up near the bromine tanks, the effects could have been devastating, with poisonous gases spreading to a 1.5-kilometer radius, killing thousands within minutes. "We are not talking about a populated area and havenât ruled out the possibility that they sought to blow up in an area where the dangerous materials are stored and perpetrate a mega-attack," Southern District police chief Cmdr. Moshe Karadi told reporters. "It could have been an accident that caused them to blow up prematurely," before they reached their intended targets, he added. Hamas and Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack on Hizbullahâs Al-Manar satellite television station and identified the two as Nabil Ibrahim Masoud and Muhammad Zahil Salem, both 18 and residents of the Jabalya refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip. Posted by: Frank G 2004-03-15 |
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