Posted on 07/05/2004 9:42:38 PM PDT by yonif
Security forces thwarted a double suicide bombing in Rosh Ha-Ayin, according to information released by the IDF Monday evening.
Acting on intelligence received, Egoz unit soldiers Monday morning arrested terror cell members in the West Bank town of Rafat and found 2 suicide belts – 10 KG each, reported Channel 1 news. The terrorists – Hamas members – were transporting the belts that were hidden in a school bag from Nablus to Elkana, where the security fence ends.
The operation comes on the heels of arrests over the past day of three Hamas members in A-Zveiah, which is close to Rafat. AN additional Palestinian was arrested at the Nablus southern roadblock.
The belts were detonated in a controlled blast.
Palestinian killed in Jenin gunbattle
Undercover Border Police disguised as Arabs wounded and captured Monday in Jenin one of the Palestinian terrorists involved in the murderous ambush of Victor Kreiderman, the Jewish settler from Mevo Dotan shot the day before.
A second Palestinian gunman was killed in the clash inside the West Bank city, the army said. At least two other Palestinian gunmen, who opened fire on IDF and security forces during the operation, were shot by Israeli troops, the army said. There were no Israeli casualties.
Military sources said intelligence information led them to the pair of Palestinian terrorists holed up inside a house in Jenin. But as they approached the men, both members of the Aksa Martyrs Brigade, they opened fire. A fierce firefight ensued, killing one man who was armed with an M-16 assault rifle, similar to the one used in Sunday's attack. The second man tried to flee, refused calls to halt and was shot, wounded and captured by the Israeli force.
The army said they evacuated the fugitive to a hospital in Israel for treatment and would later hand him over to the security forces for interrogation. In a sweep of the house, security forces found two other rifles.
Military sources identified the wounded man as Yusef Nimer Mohammed Abu Kandil, 18, allegedly the get-away-driver who transported the gunmen who ambushed Kreiderman's car Sunday morning as he drove near the village of Yabad. The Aksa Martyrs Brigade in Jenin claimed responsibility for that attack.
The slain Palestinian gunman was identified as Khaled Suliman el-Khawai, 23. Military sources said he had allegedly been involved in numerous shooting and bombing incidents in the Jenin area.
During the incident in Jenin, a Palestinian gunman on the roof of an adjacent house opened fire at Border Police and IDF troops. The troops returned fire and reported he had been hit.
At the same time, another IDF force nearby detected a gunman trying to sneak into the area. They shot him too. The condition of the two Arab gunmen was not immediately known.
During the entire operation, which lasted about 90 minutes, attack helicopters hovered above the city to offer cover fire.
30 KG roadside bomb found and house demolished
Not far from there, soldiers from the Nahal Brigade detected a 30-kilo bomb on the Jenin-Burkin road. The army said the size of the bomb showed it was meant to be used against an armored IDF vehicle. Sappers detonated it in a controlled explosion.
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