Beleaguered Israel has struck back at one of its most bitter enemies.
Israeli helicopters fired missiles at Hamas leader Sheik Ahmed Yassin as he left a mosque near his house at daybreak Monday, residents said, and witnesses said he was killed.Posted by Alan at March 21, 2004 10:34 PMWitnesses said Israeli helicopters fired three missiles at Yassin and two bodyguards as they left the mosque, killing them instantly. Hamas officials confirmed that he had been killed.
Yassin founded Hamas in 1987. He was held in Israeli prisons for several years before being released in 1994. In September 2002, Yassin escaped an Israeli missile strike on a Gaza building with a hand injury. Yassin lived in a modest house in the rundown Sabra neighborhood in Gaza City. Israel blamed him for inspiring Hamas bombers and attackers who killed hundreds of Israelis.