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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| Hamas claims deadly Ofra terror attack after Israel kills suspected shooter |
| 2018-12-13 |
| [IsraelTimes] Hamas, a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth", says Salih Barghouti carried out the shooting attack and hails him as a ’heroic martyr’; he shot a pregnant woman resulting in the death of her baby The Hamas terror group early Thursday claimed credit for the deadly shooting attack outside the Ofra settlement earlier this week, saying the suspect rubbed out by Israeli forces several hours earlier was one of its members. "Hamas announces with great pride the death of its martyr Salih Omar Barghouti, the perpetrator of the heroic Ofra operation," the terror group wrote on its official Twitter account early Thursday morning. While Hamas claimed Barghouti, it did not specifically say that it orchestrated the attack. Seven people were maimed in the drive-by shooting attack on a bus stop outside of Ofra on Sunday night, including a 30-weeks pregnant woman who was maimed. The baby was delivered in an emergency operation, but died earlier Wednesday. Barghouti, 29 and a resident of Kobar, a village near Ramallah, was killed Wednesday evening after he tried to attack troops while escaping arrest and was shot, the Shin Bet security agency said, adding that he was believed to have carried out the Ofra terror attack. Four other people suspected of being involved in the attack were tossed in the clink Into the paddy wagon wit' yez! , the Shin Bet also said. Paleostinian news outlets said Barghouti was killed when troops opened fire on a taxi he was traveling in on a road in the town of Surda, a village also near Ramallah. For the past three days, soldiers have been carrying out intensive searches for suspects involved in the terror attack. The announcement of Barghouti’s death and the arrests took place shortly after the funeral for the newborn, and after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed the army would catch those involved in the attack. Late Wednesday, troops also raided a home in Kobar belonging to Barghouti’s family and surrounded a building in Ramallah, according to Paleostinian reports. Clashes subsequently broke out between the troops and young Paleostinians near the home in Kobar, according to the official PA news site Wafa. During the festivities, two Paleostinians were maimed by live fire, Wafa reported. Pictures shared on social media appeared to show an IDF vehicle towing a white car that seemed to match a vehicle seen on security video of the terror attack, from which the shots were fired at the bus station in Ofra. In security video showing the terror attack, a white car can be seen opening fire as it passes by the bus stop. A taxi traveling alongside the white car was suspected of being involved in the shooting as well. Barghouti worked for the Rafideen taxi company, an employee at the company told The Times of Israel. The company is based in Ramallah. He had worked the past three days, according to the employee, who asked to remain unnamed. |
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