Hamas security man killed in Gaza roadside bomb
Source: Reuters
(Adds police officer killed, attacks in Gaza and Ramallah) By Nidal al-Mughrabi GAZA, Jan 25 (Reuters) - A roadside bomb killed a member of a Hamas-led security force in the Gaza Strip on Thursday with eight others wounded in the blast, hospital officials said. They said a second member of the force remained in a critical condition. Bystanders were among the wounded and included two children, they added. Hamas police spokesman Islam Shahwan said the blast was detonated while a jeep carrying six members of a Hamas-led security force passed by. "We have uncovered the wire used in detonating the bomb," he said. No one claimed responsibility for the attack, which took place in northern Gaza. At least 30 Palestinians have been killed in fighting between rival groups Hamas and Fatah since Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called last month for early presidential and parliamentary elections. Abdel-Latif Qanoua, a spokesman for Hamas in the northern Gaza Strip, told a news conference: "This crime will not pass in silence and we will chase those killers who carried out this cowardly action." MOUNTING DISORDER In a sign of mounting disorder, unknown gunmen fired at the home of Hamas Foreign Minister Mahmoud al-Zahar in Gaza, a government official said. The official said there were no injuries, but declined to say whether Zahar had been in the building at the time of the shooting due to security reasons. Separately, gunmen in Ramallah shot at the Canadian and German diplomatic missions in the West Bank city causing damage to the buildings but no casualties, Palestinian security sources said. The militants, who belonged to Fatah and were wanted by Israel, had been holed up in the Muqata compound where Abbas has his office and former leader Yasser Arafat is buried. After being removed from the compound by Abbas's presidential forces, the gunmen attacked the foreign missions in anger, the sources said. They also fired at a branch of Arab Bank, causing no casualties. Earlier this week, Palestinian factions including Hamas and Fatah resumed talks on forming a coalition government. Similar talks broke down last year. Hamas's Qanoua said there had been a spate of attacks on the homes of Hamas members in recent days. He did not directly accuse Fatah. "The leaders of the coup want to abort calm and abort the dialogue and foil the efforts to form a national unity government," he said. "But we will not allow them to prevent the resumption of dialogue." Hamas has struggled to govern since taking office in March under the weight of U.S.-led sanctions imposed because of its refusal to recognise Israel, renounce violence and abide by interim peace deals. Fatah's Abbas and Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal held inconclusive unity talks in Damascus this week. (Additional reporting by Mohammed Assadi in Ramallah)
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