Monday, Sep 27, 2004
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By Atul Aneja
MANAMA, SEPT.26. A senior leader of the Palestinian militant group Hamas was assassinated in Damascus today amid suspicions that Israel was behind the killing. Izz el-Deen al-Sheikh Khalil, believed to be in charge of Hamas' military wing outside the Palestinian territories, died when a bomb placed under the driver's seat in his car exploded in the Az-Zahera neighbourhood of Damascus this morning. Witnesses said the bomb went off soon after Mr. Khalil started the engine. The explosion shattered windows of nearby buildings. A Syrian Minister said that three other persons were killed in the blast.
Hamas' threat
The spokesman of Hamas in Gaza said that the assassination was "a cowardly crime by the Zionist Mossad." A spokesman in Damascus said Hamas would launch attacks inside Israel to avenge his death. Israeli officials declined comment on possible involvement. However, Israeli security officials had said after the August 31 suicide bombing inside a bus in Beersheba that the assassination campaign of Hamas leaders inside and outside the Palestinian territories would be renewed. Israeli army chief, Moshe Yaalon, said earlier this month Israel would "deal with ... those who support terrorism," including those in "terror command posts in Damascus." Israel had killed Hamas' co-founder and spiritual leader, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, last March in a helicopter missile strike as he left a mosque in Gaza City. His successor, Abdel-Aziz al-Rantissi, was killed a month later in a similar Israeli attack in Gaza City. Khalid Meshall, based in Damascus, is the overall chief of Hamas. The Hamas statement said "these crimes which unify the Palestinian blood inside and outside Palestine would not terrorise us or stop us from pursuing the path of Jehad and resistance."
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