(Reuters) Nidal al-Mughrabi - Hamas Islamists ruling Gaza face a growing security challenge from al-Qaeda-inspired Palestinian groups that have stepped up bombing attacks in recent weeks targeting Hamas security men and offices. Sources close to Salafi groups said fundamentalists set off three bombs in the Beach refugee camp last week near the heavily guarded home of Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh. Sources described the blasts as a message to Haniyeh to stop an arrest campaign against their members, and said the people who placed the bombs were sympathizers among Haniyeh's guards. On Monday unknown assailants detonated a bomb underneath the car of a top Hamas police officer in Gaza. In January, a bomb destroyed a senior security official's jeep in Gaza. Last month, a senior Hamas commander in Rafah escaped injury in a bomb blast. Sources said the two officers were involved in "killing and torturing" Islamist fighters.
2010-03-03 07:48:17Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive