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Middle East
Israeli forces kill Gaza fighters
Two die as mortars and tank shells are fired at Palestinians close to border fence.
Last Modified: 20 Sep 2009 18:16 GMT
One of the dead Palestinians was a Hamas fighter
while the other was from the PFLP [AFP]

Two Palestinian fighters have been killed after the Israeli military fired tank shells and mortars near the Gaza border.

The Israeli army said that the two men were planting explosive devices along the fence which separates the territory from Israel on Sunday. 

"The two men, both in their early twenties, Abed al-haft Chalil al-Silawai and Machmud Achmed Muhammed Nazir, are known for recently planting explosive devices along the Gaza security fence and are responsible for firing mortar shells into Israeli territory," it said in a statement.

It also said that they fired three rockets into Israeli territory on August 24 and injured a soldier.

Fatal attack

The military wing of Hamas said that 21-year-old al-Silawai was one of their fighters, while the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) identified the 21-year-old Nazir as a member of their group.

A third man was wounded in the incident, according to medics working at a hospital where he was being treated.

It was the first fatal attack in the Gaza Strip confirmed by Israel in nearly a month as unilateral ceasefires declared by each side after the December-January offensive in the territory have largely been observed.

Two Hamas members were killed on September 1, but Israel denied involvement in that incident.

Source:
Al Jazeera and agencies
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