Israeli army kills two militants on Gaza border
(Reuters)
Updated: 2006-02-24 15:45

Israeli soldiers shot dead two Palestinian militants as they planted bombs along the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel early on Friday, the Israeli army and Palestinian ambulance crews said.

The killings were the latest in a series of clashes between the Israeli army and Palestinian militants which have prompted vows of revenge by the militant Islamic Hamas group as it prepares to form a Palestinian government.

One of the militants killed overnight was the son of Abdel Fattah Dukhan, a senior leader and co-founder of the militant Islamic group. Dukhan was elected to parliament in the Palestinian election on January 25, which was won by Hamas.

The first militant was killed soon after midnight as he tried to plant mines along the border fence near the Kissufim Crossing to Israel, Palestinian security sources and the Israeli army said. Hours later, soldiers shot dead another militant nearby.

"In a second incident in the same area, a Palestinian was seen approaching the fence holding a suspicion object and later kneeling on the ground and apparently fixing wires. We fired at him and saw that we had hit him," an army spokeswoman said.

She said one gunman was arrested and was being questioned.

Shortly afterwards, an Israeli aircraft fired a missile at a car carrying militants on their way to fire rockets, an official from the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades group said. The occupants jumped to safety before the car was hit. Two passers-by were slightly hurt.