This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/middle_east/8202553.stm
The article has changed 7 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 5 | Version 6 |
|---|---|
| Deadly gun battle in Gaza mosque | |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| At least 13 people have been killed and at least 85 injured in a fierce gun battle in Gaza, emergency services say. | |
| Eyewitnesses say hundreds of Hamas fighters and policemen surrounded a mosque where followers of a radical Islamist cleric were holed up. | Eyewitnesses say hundreds of Hamas fighters and policemen surrounded a mosque where followers of a radical Islamist cleric were holed up. |
| Hamas fired rocket-propelled grenades at the mosque and stormed the leader's house in Rafah, near the Egypt border. | |
| It is thought that at least 100 supporters of the al-Qaeda-linked group, Jund Ansar Allah, were inside. | It is thought that at least 100 supporters of the al-Qaeda-linked group, Jund Ansar Allah, were inside. |
| At least one Hamas fighter was killed by a grenade fired from the mosque but most of those killed were supporters of the cleric. One child was also killed. | At least one Hamas fighter was killed by a grenade fired from the mosque but most of those killed were supporters of the cleric. One child was also killed. |
| The entire neighbourhood was sealed off as the shooting continued after dark - in what was one of the most violent incidents in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip since an Israeli offensive in December and January. | |
| It was not immediately clear if the mosque's imam, Abdul-Latif Moussa, was captured during the fighting. | |
| Fighting pledge | Fighting pledge |
| Earlier, during Friday prayers, hundreds of worshippers at Ibn-Taymiyah mosque declared Gaza an "Islamic emirate". | Earlier, during Friday prayers, hundreds of worshippers at Ibn-Taymiyah mosque declared Gaza an "Islamic emirate". |
| These declarations [of an Islamic emirate] are aimed towards incitement against the Gaza Strip Ismail Haniya,leader of Hamas in Gaza | |
| Abdul-Latif Moussa and armed supporters swore to fight to the death rather than hand over authority of the mosque to Hamas. | |
| During his own Friday sermon, the leader of Hamas in Gaza, Ismail Haniya, dismissed Mr Moussa's comments. | During his own Friday sermon, the leader of Hamas in Gaza, Ismail Haniya, dismissed Mr Moussa's comments. |
| "These declarations [of an Islamic emirate] are aimed towards incitement against the Gaza Strip and an attempt at recruiting an international alliance against the Gaza Strip. | "These declarations [of an Islamic emirate] are aimed towards incitement against the Gaza Strip and an attempt at recruiting an international alliance against the Gaza Strip. |
| "And we warn those who are behind these Israeli Zionist declarations: the Gaza Strip only contains its people." | "And we warn those who are behind these Israeli Zionist declarations: the Gaza Strip only contains its people." |
| Jund Ansar Allah (Army of the Helpers of God) gained some prominence two months ago when it staged a failed attack on a border crossing between Gaza and Israel. | Jund Ansar Allah (Army of the Helpers of God) gained some prominence two months ago when it staged a failed attack on a border crossing between Gaza and Israel. |
| The group is very critical of Hamas, which seized Gaza in 2007, accusing the Islamist group of not being Islamist enough. | |
| Hamas has cracked down on al-Qaeda-inspired groups in the past, the BBC's Middle East correspondent Katya Adler says. | |
| Hamas is concerned they may attract more extremist members, and has forbidden anyone except what it describes as Hamas security personnel from carrying weapons in Gaza, our correspondent says. |