RAMALLAH Ñ Israeli special operations forces have captured a leading
Islamic insurgency commander.
Israeli and Palestinian sources said a military unit captured the
commander of the Islamic Jihad in the West Bank city of Jenin. Amjad Obeidi
was regarded as the leading planner of Jihad suicide attacks in Israeli
cities over the last year.
Obeidi was captured in Jenin on Friday in an operation that resulted in
riots in the northern West Bank city. Jenin has been regarded as the leading
Jihad stronghold in the West Bank.
Israeli military sources said Obeidi had been planning suicide attacks
in several Israeli cities. They said Obeidi was linked to bombings in Haifa
and Jerusalem in 2003 in which more than 30 people were killed.
Obeidi carried out some of the Jihad operations with the cooperation of
the much-larger Hamas movement, the sources said. They said Hamas helped
finance operations and provide the explosives required for the suicide
attacks. Jihad would supply the suicide bomber.
