ISRAEL, GAZA: Security forces target Army of Islam operatives, again

One of two Palestinians killed in Gaza in an Israeli airstrike Wednesday evening was Islam Yasin, a senior operative of the Army of Islam, according to an Israeli army statement. This is the second joint IDF-Shin Bet operation in two weeks targeting members of the organization, believed to be engaged in terrorism plots in Egypt's Sinai peninsula.

Two weeks ago, in the first targeted killing in some time, Israeli forces killed Mohammed Namnam, also in Gaza. The army, after a few hours of silence on the matter, said Namnam was a top member of the organization, which identifies with global Islamist causes and Al Qaeda, and was involved in preparing an attack against "American and Israeli targets" in the peninsula.

A few days after the first strike, Israel's counter-terrorism bureau, a body under the prime minister's office, issued an urgent advisory, urging Israelis in Sinai to leave immediately. The level of the warning was categorized as "very high concrete threat" and cited immediate, reliable information about an Army of Islam cell already deployed in Sinai planning to kidnap Israelis. Namnam's killing was connected to this, the bureau said.

These developments were followed by reports of arrests in Sinai and a man-hunt for another cell, Gaza-bound. They were also followed by the interesting report that Egypt had provided Israel with the intelligence for the first strike, according to Time, and denials of arrests from Egyptian officials in Sinai accusing Israel of serially issuing warnings before holidays to undermine the tourism economy. 

Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman visited Israel and the West Bank in recent weeks for talks, though his  meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was said to be about jumpstarting the peace process. Israel will start building a fence along its border with Egypt in the next few weeks, in the hope of keeping out the steadily increasing stream of African migrants, as well as the terrorists, guns and drugs that move quietly through the sands of the largely open sprawling border. 

-- Batsheva Sobelman

Comments

[Joe]

@deanblake..
Look, I just question her sources. The IDF and the others are not really partial. They are after all Israeli entities. I need more objective reporting like Edmund Sanders.

[Dean Blake]

Two of the mortor shells are reported to have contained white phospherous and landed inside residential communities.

@ geo88 - this article is directly from a reliable LA Times Hebrew speaking stringer Batsheva Sobelman. Your misleading and rhetorical questions are unfounded and serve no other purpose than to create doubt in the mind of the readers that the Israelis are justified in their counter-attack. You would imply its pretensive publicity to justify the counter-attack sourced from governmental authorities when photos are available and the authro is an reporter for the LA Times.
Typical of your postings. You question Sobelman with the Jewish name, but accept non-Jewish sounding named authors negative articles unquestoiningly.

[Rachele]

A short while ago, in response to intensive rocket fire, the IAF struck three terror sites in the Gaza Strip. Direct hits were identified.
The targeting of these terror-linked sites was in response to the firing of rockets at Israel's Southern communities over the past two days: ten mortar shells were fired and landed in open territories and a Grad rocket was fired early this morning, causing damage.
The IDF holds the Hamas terrorist organization solely responsible for maintaining the calm in the Gaza Strip and for any terrorist activity emanating from it. The IDF will also continue to respond harshly to any attempt to use terror against the State of Israel.

[jane]

The army of Islam has no place in Israel...they have 56 countries with Mecca as a capital and all they do is scream war with Israel!

[geo88a]

Does anybody know where to get the "truth" about this news article. From IDF, Haaretz, Israeli National Security Council, The Jerusalem Post,
Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to full circle LA Times, I think is a little lopsided. I don't know what to make of it?