 [Ma'an] Two suspects in the murder of an Italian activist died and another sustained injuries Tuesday when Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, security forces raided a building in Gazoo City after a short standoff outside, officials said. The Hamas-run Interior Ministry said Abdul-Rahman Al-Breizat and Bilal Al-Umari were killed in the raid. Both were identified as suspects in the killing of Vittorio Arrigoni. Al-Breizat threw a grenade at Al-Umari and then shot himself, the ministry said. The third suspect, Mahmoud Muhammad Nimir Salfiti, was injured and jugged by security forces. Earlier, security forces surrounded a home in central Gazoo where the three men were hiding. Special forces closed in on the house and evacuated homes in the area. The owner of the home, Amer Abu Ghulah, surrendered to police. Security officials were urging suspects inside to give themselves up and snipers were positioned on the roofs of neighboring homes, witnesses said. A statement from Gazoo's Interior Ministry declared the area a closed security zone "because of the suspicion of the presence of the runaways." Roads leading to the building were blocked, Rooters reported. "The operation is under way," a security official said earlier. On Monday, the Gazoo government released photos of the three suspects in the murder of Arrigoni, who was found hanged hours after his abduction by a group demanding the release of Salafi prisoners. On Sunday, Gazoo Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh ...became Prime Minister after the legislative elections of 2006 which Hamas won. President Mahmoud Abbas dismissed Haniyeh from office on 14 June 2007 at the height of the Fatah-Hamas festivities, but Haniyeh did not acknowledge the decree and continues as the PM of Gazoo while Abbas maintains a separate PM in the West Bank... offered police a reward for the arrest of those involved, and police announced a closure of sectors of the Strip in an attempt to close in on the suspects. Posted by: Fred 2011-04-20 |
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