The Israel Air Force hit a pair of operatives involved in past terror activities in Egypt—at least one of whom was planning a new attack— late Wednesday night in Gaza. According to an announcement on the IDF website, one of the terrorists was part of the “Defenders of al-Aqsa” group and was “in the final stages of preparing to carry out a terror attack against Israeli civilians.”
The incident follows a minor escalation earlier this month in Gaza rocket attacks on Israel, one of which damaged a house.
Anis Abu Mahmoud el-Anin, whom the IDF linked to efforts to smuggle explosives into Israel across the Egyptian border as part of “Defenders of al-Aqsa,” also directed “certain terror activity” in the West Bank.
“Defenders of al-Aqsa” is a terrorist group “sponsored by Hamas,” noted the IDF. Hamas is the ruling political force in the Gaza Strip and a long-time terrorist organization.
The IDF said the other operative targeted on Wednesday, Ashraf Mahmoud Salah, acknowledged in a previous investigation to “transferring two terrorists into Egypt in order to carry out a suicide attack in Israel.”
The IDF highlighted the importance of their counterterrorism activities, saying in the statement that they “will not tolerate any attempt by terrorist groups to harm Israeli civilians and IDF soldiers, and will continue to operate with strength and determination against those who use terror against the State of Israel.”
(By Joshua Spurlock, www.themideastupdate.com, September 19, 2012)