Palestinian insurgents believed to have stemmed from the ruling Fatah movement were said to have bombed a U.S. convoy in the Gaza Strip.
Palestinian sources said the insurgents came from the Fatah movement loyal to Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat and were financed by Iran to launch attacks against U.S. interests.
| Oh-ho! Hadn't heard that part of it! |
The sources said the insurgents had contacts within the PA security agencies and for months planned an attack against American targets. The attack reflected tactics similar to those of the Iranian-sponsored Hizbullah. The sources said the insurgents used a remote-controlled mine that was more than 80 kilograms, similar to the bombs used to destroy Israeli Merkava Mk-3 main battle tanks in 2001 and 2002. "The bomb was prepared weeks ago and placed at the location for at least a week," a source said. "When they learned of the arrival of the Americans, they acted." |