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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| PIJ head cheese, master rocket maker, 6 other beggars helizapped |
| 2007-12-18 |
| Israeli aircraft launched an assault on the radical Islamic Jihad organization from the skies over Gaza, killing eight of the organization's men in three fiery strikes overnight. Early Tuesday, an Israeli air-to-ground missile killed three Islamic Jihad gunmen, including a senior commander, as they emerged from morning prayers at a northern Gaza mosque. That attack came on the heels of a pair of airstrikes after nightfall Monday. Israeli aircraft blasted two cars in Gaza City, killing five Islamic Jihad militants, including the group's overall commander in Gaza and the West Bank and a master rocket maker. Early Tuesday, the group also announced that its commander in the northern West Bank had been killed by an undercover Israeli unit. But the Israeli military, which usually takes responsibility for such operations, said it had no knowledge of the incident. The target of the first Israeli airstrike in Gaza City late Monday was Majed Harazin, a senior Islamic Jihad militant in charge of rocket squads that have been firing at Israel, the military said. Islamic Jihad spokesman Khaled el-Batch confirmed that Harazin was killed in the first attack. He was the top Islamic Jihad commander for both the West Bank and Gaza, the group said, and he Gun In the second airstrike, shortly before midnight, the military said its aircraft targeted a cell that was about to fire rockets at Israel. Undercover agents took part in the attack, the military said, and the leader of the cell was killed. Two other militants also died. Both Israel and Islamic Jihad identified him as Karim al-Dahdouh, known as a master rocket maker. The Israeli missiles obliterated a car on a narrow road, and rescue teams searched for body parts in a nearby grove. Hamas radio said the car was filled with explosives and warned people to stay away, but people crowded around the burning vehicle. Witnesses said the initial blast was followed by smaller explosions after the car was hit while slowing down near a mosque. The third strike, early Tuesday, killed three more of the group's men and critically wounded a fourth. Four civilians also were wounded, medical officials said. In an e-mail sent to reporters, Islamic Jihad said it would retaliate for its losses with suicide attacks inside Israel, threatening "a wave of martyrdom operations." |
| Posted by:Seafarious |
| #5 as of near dusk local time the tally of dead jihadis was up to 13 (per haaratz) |
| Posted by: mhw 2007-12-18 11:29 |
| #4 the fact that the IDF is confident enough to admit that they not only have undercover agents in Gaza Nah, it's technical, but paranioa is a very potent weapon. |
| Posted by: phil_b 2007-12-18 06:53 |
| #3 Well, mhw, if you can't keep your own folks in line, it's nice to have some contractors clean up for you. Plus you get plausible deniability! |
| Posted by: Bobby 2007-12-18 06:31 |
| #2 the fact that the IDF is confident enough to admit that they not only have undercover agents in Gaza but that these agents act openly against IJihad types. this seems evident that Hamas gave the IDF a green light for this operation |
| Posted by: mhw 2007-12-18 05:49 |
| #1 Hamas radio said the car was filled with explosives and warned people to stay away, but people crowded around the burning vehicle. That's our Palis. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2007-12-18 02:33 |