IAF kills Army of Islam leader in Gaza

Forces carry out aerial strike on vehicle of senior terrorist who planned to kidnap Israeli nationals in Sinai.

By YAAKOV LAPPIN
Gaza Car Bombed 311 (photo credit: Associated Press)
Gaza Car Bombed 311
(photo credit: Associated Press)
The air force and the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) targeted a senior member of the al-Qaida-affiliated Army of Islam on Wednesday, in an aerial strike on his vehicle in Gaza City.
Islam Yassin, 35, from Jabalya in the northern Gaza Strip was killed in the strike along with his brother Muhammad, and four people were lightly wounded, a Palestinian source in Gaza said.
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Yassin was planning to kidnap Israelis vacationing in Sinai, the IDF Spokesman’s Office said in a statement.
According to the IDF, Yassin had “acted as the right-hand man and aide” to the head of the Army of Islam, Memtaz Dormush.
On November 11, the Counter-Terrorism Bureau released an urgent warning calling on all Israelis in Sinai to return to Israel immediately, due to intelligence of a kidnap plot.
Wednesday’s attack was the second in Gaza within a month in which a member of the global jihadi organization was targeted to thwart the Sinai plot.
On November 3, Muhammad Jamal Faras Nemnan was killed when his car exploded in Gaza. The IDF said Nemnan, also a member of the Army of Islam, was killed “due to his involvement in this [the Sinai kidnapping plot] attack.”