Hamas pledges revenge for killing of leading militant

The Islamic militant group Hamas threatened bloody revenge after the leader of its military wing in the West Bank was killed in an Israeli missile attack.

Israel acknowledged that it killed Mahmoud Abu Hanoud along with two other activists.

He is said to have topped its wanted list and was suspected of having masterminded several major suicide bombings, killing scores of Israelis since 1997.

The Palestinian Authority accused Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon of trying to sabotage a new US peace mission with the targeted killings.

Two US envoys, US State Department official William Burns and retired Marine Corps general Anthony Zinni are expected to arrive in the region on Monday. Their mission is to revive a truce deal and help restart peace talks.

Hamas has carried out bloody revenge attacks in the past, and the killing of Abu Hanoud was likely to plunge the region into new turmoil.

"Revenge for our martyrs is something related to our military wing, but we hope that the answer and the tough reaction will come soon for this ugly crime," said Abdel Aziz Rantisi, a Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip. "The punishment for this criminal enemy is coming, without any doubt."

The group declared a three-day period of mourning and asked Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip to observe a strike today.

The targeted killings came at a time of renewed tension. On Thursday, five boys from the Khan Younis refugee camp in the Gaza Strip were killed when they stepped on explosives Palestinian police say were planted by Israeli forces. Israel's defence minister said the deaths were being investigated.

Abu Hanoud, his deputy Ayman Hashaykah and Hashaykah's brother, a lower-ranking Hamas activist, were driving in a van between the West Bank towns of Nablus and Jenin when their vehicle was hit by several Israeli missiles fired from a helicopter, Palestinian security officials said.