Hamas forces kill leader of Islamic splinter group in Gaza

The local leader of an extremist Islamic splinter group was fatally shot in a clash with Hamas forces who had come to arrest him. The death raised tensions in Gaza at a time when Hamas, which controls the territory, has been cracking down on radical jihadis.

Iyad al-Buzom, a spokesman for the interior ministry in the territory, said the man was shot after he refused to surrender and had opened fire on security forces. Writing on his Facebook page, Mr Buzom added the man had booby-trapped his house, and the Hamas forces found explosive belts, bombs, rocket-propelled grenades and other weapons.

But a brother of the dead man said he was killed because he "rebelled against Hamas" and supported the Islamic State and the imposition of Islamic law. The dead man was identified by relatives as Younis Hounor (27). According to Muhammad Hounor, his brother, he spent four years in the military wing of Hamas, before joining the more radical Salafist stream of Islam two years ago. Mr Hounor said 27 family members were sleeping inside the house when Hamas forces surrounded it. He denied the house contained any weapons, describing the raid as "terrorism."– (New York Times)