Hamas battles with extremists

GAZA CITY: Militants from an Al-Qaeda-inspired group battled Hamas security forces in the Gaza Strip on Friday in a shootout that killed 13 people.

The fighting began when Hamas forces surrounded a mosque in the southern Gaza town of Rafah where about 100 members of Jund Ansar Allah were holed up, including some armed with suicide belts, according to residents of the area.

The confrontation was triggered when the leader of the group defied Gaza’s Hamas rulers by declaring in a Friday prayer sermon that the territory was an Islamic emirate.

Jund Ansar Allah and a number of other small, shadowy groups seek to enforce Islamic law in Gaza and have criticized Hamas for not doing so. They are also upset that Hamas has honored a cease-fire with Israel for the past seven months.

Hamas has said it seeks to set an example and does not impose its views on others. It also says its struggle is against Israel, not the Western world.

The hard-line groups are perhaps the most serious opposition to Hamas since it seized control of Gaza and ousted its rivals in the Fatah movement in a five-day civil war in June 2007.

“We are today proclaiming the creation of an Islamic emirate in the Gaza Strip,� the leader of Jund Ansar Allah, Abdel-Latif Moussa, said at the mosque.

Moussa, who calls himself Abu Al-Nur Al-Maqdisi, was surrounded by armed fighters when he made the statement.

Moussa warned Hamas forces against trying to enter the mosque compound. “If Hamas does that, it will be their end,� he said.

Shortly afterward, a gunbattle broke out between the militants inside the mosque and Hamas forces surrounding it. By that time Moussa had left the mosque.

Hamas fighters later went after Moussa and were fired at from inside his house. A loud explosion was heard, but it was not clear whether the militants inside had set off explosives or the surrounding Hamas forces had thrown a grenade.

In the two battles, 13 people were killed. They included a Hamas fighter and an 11-year-old girl.

Jund Ansar Allah first came to public attention in June after it claimed responsibility for a failed attempt to attack Israel from Gaza on horseback.

The group claims inspiration from Al-Qaeda, but no ties have been confirmed. In a message issued on its website, Jund Ansar Allah called on all Muslims in Gaza to “support the mujahedeen, to aid them and to host them.�

In July, three extremists from the group holed themselves up in a building in southern Gaza, surrendering to Hamas police only after a lengthy standoff.

It is unclear how many members Jund Ansar Allah or other similar extremist groups in Gaza have.

arabnews.com