Israeli troops kill Islamic Jihad leader

Israeli troops killed a local Islamic Jihad leader in a firefight today, prompting threats of revenge by the violent militant group and placing more strain on an already shaky ceasefire.

The military confirmed that soldiers raided the hideout of the local leader, Mohammed Sidr, saying troops came to arrest him for allegedly planning to attack Israelis with a car bomb.

The army said that when troops called on Sidr to give himself up he fired at them and the two sides traded shots for about six hours.

Witnesses said the soldiers then fired an anti-tank missile into the building, setting it on fire and bringing down the walls. Military bulldozers then demolished the ruins.

The army said it could not confirm Sidr’s death, but witnesses said they saw a body retrieved from the rubble.

Sheikh Bassam Sadi, leader of Islamic Jihad in the West Bank, confirmed Sidr’s death and promised revenge. “I assure our people that this crime in Hebron will not go unpunished,” he said.

The killing of two members of the radical Islamic Hamas group under similar circumstances last week led to a revenge attack on Tuesday in which a teenage Hamas suicide bomber killed a Jewish settler.

Israeli Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz claimed he suspects Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat was involved in that attack and another suicide bombing on the same day.

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Mofaz have renewed their criticism of Arafat since Tuesday’s bombings, which killed two Israelis and wounded 11, saying he is trying to undermine Palestinian Premier Mahmoud Abbas, who was appointed in April under heavy US and Israeli pressure to find an alternative to Arafat.