Israeli Security Fight New Terror Cell – Salafis Unaligned with Existing Groups

Israeli sources report that its troops engaged a terror cell on Tuesday night near the West Bank city of Hebron in a firefight, killing three and preventing a terror attack being planned by the group. Soldiers who had the suspected terrorists under watch fired at the tires of their vehicle, triggering return fire during which two suspects were killed. The third was killed in the village of Yata where all three lived. Weapons and explosives were found in the vehicle. Israeli sources believe the cell was planning attacks against both Israeli and Palestinian Authority targets. Of particular concern to the Israelis is the belief that it now has an Al-Qa’ida-aligned terrorist group not aligned with traditional enemies Fatah and Hamas. The army has been making arrests in the West Bank for some time, targeting the new entrants. Ma’an news agency reported that in a show of solidarity, “Palestinian nationalist and Islamic factions” in Hebron declared Wednesday to be a day of mourning for the three killed.